This is a newspiece written for The Daily Star:
Anthony Elghossain
Special to The Daily Star
BEIRUT: A Syrian government source denied that three Syrian Army divisions have been deployed near the Lebanese border, according to a Sunday report on Al-Manar TV. "Such reports are groundless and are better not be commented on," the Syrian source told the television channel.
The Sunday edition of An-Nahar newspaper, without specifying further, included a report claiming that "high-ranking" sources had informed the paper of the concurrent deployment of Syrian troops near the border and mobilization of certain Palestinian factions in the Lebanese Bekaa region.
Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon in 2005 after a controversial 30-year presence, and their movements near the Lebanese-Syrian border, which has yet to be formally delineated, have remained a point of contention between the two states.
Various reports regarding the potential violation of Lebanese territory by Syrian troops or Syrian-backed Palestinian factions have periodically surfaced, as have reports claiming that Syrian troops have yet to leave certain areas considered to be Lebanese.
The report comes amid speculation concerning a potential escalation in political tension after the March 29-30 Arab summit in Damascus and says that the An-Nahar source "links this deployment to Iranian and Syrian calculations, ones with regional implications. This movement may indicate that Iran and Syria are trying to avoid confrontations on their own soil by choosing an alternative arena of conflict."
"There are signals that whatever happens after the Arab summit at the end of this month will carry significant repercussions," added the source. However, the source quoted by Al-Manar ridiculed the notion of such a deployment.
When asked to comment on the report, a senior Lebanese Army source refused to confirm or deny its validity, telling The Daily Star on Monday: "I have no comment on the matter."
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