LEBANON: Closure of five illegal Lebanese crossings with Syria

BEIRUT — Lebanese media on Tuesday reported that Lebanese army forces closed a number of illegal land border crossings between Lebanon and Syria. In a joint operation, the Lebanese Army Intelligence Directorate and the Second Land Border Regiment closed five illegal crossings in the Harf al-Summaqah and Msharafieh area in the Hermel district and an iron bridge was removed used to cross stolen cars into Syria.

Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab had said last May that the government would pursue all efforts to stop the smuggling economy by closing crossings that cause great damage to the state. Also last May, the Lebanese army announced that a military unit had removed pipelines that were being used to smuggle diesel into Syria through the Al-Buqei’a area.