Army Arrests Two Sudanese who Crossed into Israel, 4 Others

The Lebanese Army on Wednesday arrested two Sudanese nationals who had crossed into Israel on Tuesday.

“A patrol from the Intelligence Directorate on Wednesday arrested two Sudanese nationals in the southern area of al-Qawzah after their presence there raised suspicions,” an army statement said.

“They confessed that they had crossed into the occupied Palestinian territories on Tuesday through the electronic fence near the town of Yaroun before being arrested by Israeli enemy troops, who forced them to return to Lebanese territory on Wednesday, in breach of the applicable operational measures that call for coordination with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon,” the military added.

Another patrol from the aforementioned directorate meanwhile arrested four other Sudanese in the Alma al-Shaab-Wadi Hamoul area, who were preparing to cross into Israel, the army said.

An investigation has since been launched under the supervision of the competent judicial authorities, it added.

A similar incident had occurred on May 3, when Israeli forces caught five Sudanese men who crossed from south Lebanon. An Israeli military spokeswoman said it was believed the men had intended to seek work in Israel, which was home to more than 6,000 Sudanese asylum seekers as of January.

The five Sudanese were also detained by the Lebanese Army upon their return across the border.

Israel and Lebanon are technically at war, with Israel having fought a full-fledged war against Hizbullah in 2006.

Israel also remains technically at war with Sudan, which supported hardline Islamists -- including, for a period, al-Qaida -- under former president Omar al-Bashir. In February, the leaders of both countries met in Uganda for what the Israeli prime minister's office described as talks aimed at normalizing ties.