Syrian Gunfire Reaches Wadi Khaled as Army Consolidates Presence on Border

The house of a Lebanese man was damaged by cross-border fire in the northern area of Wadi Khaled at dawn Saturday, a day after the army began heavily deploying on the northern and northeastern boundary with Syria.

Several bullets hit the house of Mohammed Abadi after gunfire reached the villages of Hnaider, al-Hishe and al-Muqaibla in Wadi Khaled. But no casualties were reported.

Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) said the residents of the towns also heard heavy artillery shelling overnight in the areas of Talkalakh and Qalaat el-Hosn.

The Lebanese army said in a communique on Friday that it issued clear instructions to the extra troops being deployed on the border to respond to any source of fire.

Military sources told An Nahar daily published Saturday that the deployment includes the number of personnel and military equipment to assist troops and security forces already present in the area.

Several army units based in southern Lebanon are now positioning in the North after the South became the most stable area, they said.

If the need arises, the army command could send several brigades from the area south of the Litani river to the North and Northeast following an agreement with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, the sources told the newspaper.

The UNIFIL leadership no doubt understands the situation that the Lebanese army is facing, they said.

But they stressed that the army can’t move an entire brigade to the border with Syria over fears of the vacuum left in other areas.

The military deployment came in line with a government decision aimed at protecting citizens after several people were killed and injured by gunfire and shelling as the Syrian army battled with armed rebels.