BEIRUT, 4 December 2005 — Lebanese troops have removed the remains of 25 bodies from a mass grave in the eastern Bekaa Valley town of Anjar, near the former headquarters of Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon, security officers said yesterday.
At least one of the bodies belonged to a Lebanese soldier, identified as such by his uniform.
The bodies were found by local residents, who informed Lebanese authorities, said the officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
The remains, including bones, teeth and skulls, were taken from the mass grave on the Nabi Azir hilltop position formerly occupied by Syrian soldiers, about a kilometer from the former headquarters of Syrian military intelligence in Lebanon.
Troops barred journalists yesterday from approaching the grave site, only allowing photographers to take pictures of them refilling the earth pit after their work was done. Journalists, however, saw troops collecting the remains in at least 12 black bags. The remains were then taken for DNA testing, said the officers.
The bodies were found on an old onion farm in the town. Security forces were using a bulldozer to dig for more bodies. The Lebanese Army took over the onion farm after Syrian troops and intelligence agents withdrew from Lebanon in April.
The identities of the bodies were not immediately clear. One security officer said they appeared to have been killed in October 1990 during the Syrian military offensive that defeated Christian-commanded units of the Lebanese Army under Michel Aoun, who was interim prime minister at the time.
Syria was the main power broker in Lebanon until early this year, when public sentiment turned against it in the wake of the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, for which many blamed Damascus. Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon in April after a 29-year military presence.
The Anjar headquarters were vacated April 25 as the pillars of Syria’s domination of Lebanon crumbled.
