SULTAN YACOUB, 28 October 2005 — Lebanon beefed up its forces around pro-Syrian Palestinian guerrilla bases yesterday, but said it was seeking talks not armed conflict with militants over ending an armed presence outside refugee camps.
A UN report, prepared by special envoy Terje Roed-Larsen to the UN Security Council, said on Wednesday arms were still flowing across the Syrian border to Palestinian groups and others in Lebanon.
Lebanese army commandos had deployed in force along the border in response to the killing this week of a civilian army contractor by suspected Palestinian gunmen.
The Lebanese army, hours before the report was released, also encircled positions maintained by the Syrian-backed Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) in the Sultan Yacoub area in the eastern Bekaa Valley.
The decision to reinforce the troops with more tanks in Hilwe and Yanta near posts of the Fatah Uprising group was because the “region’s rugged terrain makes it hard to patrol the area with jeeps,” a security source said.
Lebanese officials played down the significance of the deployment, saying they wanted to talk, not fight the Palestinians. “We don’t have an interest in having anyone drag us into a battle, an argument, a difference or tension that seeks goals that don’t serve Lebanon,” an official statement quoted Prime Minister Fuad Siniora telling a Cabinet meeting.
Siniora launched talks with various Palestinian factions earlier this month to hammer out an agreement over the issue of Palestinian arms outside the camps.
The Lebanese government says Palestinian groups must shut down the military posts they hold outside the dozen squalid refugee camps.
Syrian-backed Palestinian groups, not affiliated to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) that has taken a softer line, have rejected demands they close down those positions.
“Regarding the Palestinian issue, there was a government decision taken unanimously and this decision is being executed. Dialogue with the Palestinian brothers should start as soon as possible,” Information Minister Ghazi Aridi said after the Cabinet session.
The military began tightening its grip along the border and around the Palestinian camps and outposts weeks ago, after reports that Syria was using the Palestinian outposts as a conduit for smuggling weapons into Lebanon.
The issue of armed pro-Syrian Palestinian groups in Lebanon has moved to center stage since the Security Council passed Resolution 1559 last year, demanding the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country and the disarmament of all militias.
Syria ended its 29-year military presence in Lebanon in April after mounting international pressure and mass protests over the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri on Feb. 14.
Damascus has repeatedly denied its involvement. About 390,000 Palestinian refugees live in 12 camps around Lebanon, which the Lebanese army does not enter.
A senior Palestinian yesterday dismissed allegations in a UN report that arms and militants could still be crossing the Syrian border to Palestinian groups in Lebanon. Ahmed Jibril, secretary-general and founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), said the report was “a sheer lie and comes in the context of the continuing pressures on Syria”.
Jibril said the Palestinians in Lebanon did not need weapons or personnel “because we have enough of them” in Lebanon and called on Roed-Larsen to provide evidence for the claims. He said attempts to disarm Palestinian groups were aimed at stripping the Palestinian people of all power.
The PFLP would never abandon its arms. “Our weapons are not just to protect the Palestinian camps in Lebanon but they are for our struggle to preserve our rights to determine our destiny and return,” he said. Founded by Jibril in 1968, the PFLP rejects any peace with Israel.
