Syria Plants More Mines along Border with Wadi Khaled

Syrian troops on Tuesday were seen planting more mines along the border with northern Lebanon, in an area close to the flashpoint central province of Homs, a Lebanese official said.

"Syrian army units for three days have been planting mines along the border area between the Syrian village of Bweet and the Lebanese village of Hnayder," the official from Hnayder said, requesting anonymity.

He said bulldozers were also reinforcing dirt mounds that separate the two borders.

Hnayder is located in the Lebanese northern region of Wadi Khaled where some 6,400 Syrians have sought refuge since the outbreak of the 11-month revolt against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

Syria in past months has planted mines near the area to prevent refugees and opposition activists from streaming into Lebanon.

The Lebanese army deployed on Saturday in Wadi Khaled after media outlets reported that members of the rebel Free Syrian Army were present in the region.

“On Saturday morning the military carried out three airdrops in al-Rami village near Wadi Khaled and searched the area for hours,” a military source told LBC.

MP Moein al-Merehbi confirmed the reports, slamming the deployment of the army as “Syrian orders to President Michel Suleiman, Prime Minister Najib Miqati, and Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji.”

Al-Akhbar newspaper has reported that Wadi Khaled has become a military base for the Free Syrian Army.

According to the daily, FSA officers and fighters are moving freely along the illegal border crossings, smuggling weapons and transporting injured soldiers.

Thousands of Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon amid a deadly crackdown on a popular revolt against the Assad regime.

Syrian troops have also staged deadly incursions into border villages in neighboring Lebanon.