Syria sends thousands of troops to Lebanon border, sources say

Syria has reinforced its border with Lebanon with rocket units and thousands of troops, eight Syrian and Lebanese sources say, as conflict spreads in the region, including between Israel and the Hezbollah terror group in Lebanon.

The sources include five Syrian military officers, a Syrian security official and two Lebanese security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The Syrian officers say the Syrian reinforcement operation began in February but sped up in recent days. The Syrian and Lebanese armed forces do not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Syrian officers, including a senior member of the military, say the move is aimed at preventing arms and drugs smuggling as well as blocking Hezbollah or other terrorists from infiltrating Syria.

A Syrian officer tells Reuters that military formations from several Syrian army divisions have expanded their presence along the border in the western Homs countryside and south of Tartus.

The reinforcements include infantry units, armored vehicles and short-range Grad and Katyusha rocket launchers, the official says.

The Syrian security official says Damascus has no plans for military action against any neighboring country.

“But Syria is prepared to deal with any security threat to itself or its partners,” he says.

The move has fueled concern among some European and Lebanese officials over a possible incursion.

The Syrian military officers vehemently deny any such plans, saying Syria wants balanced relations with its neighbor after decades of strained ties linked to Syria’s outsized influence in Lebanon and Hezbollah’s support for the former government of ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during a 14-year civil war.

Syria had troops stationed in Lebanon from 1976 until 2005, including during Lebanon’s civil war that ended in 1990.

A senior Lebanese security official says Syrian authorities told Beirut that Syria’s deployment of rocket launchers along the mountains that form Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria is a “defensive measure against any action or attack that Hezbollah might launch against Syria.”