Lebanon deporting officers and soldiers of former regime back to Syria after illegal entry, sources confirm

Lebanese security forces have been deporting officers and soldiers from the former regime back to Syria after illegally crossing into Lebanon, security sources in Beirut said on Monday.

The National reported last week that high-ranking military and security officers and diplomats are among dozens of officials from Syria's collapsing regime who fled to Lebanon as rebels marched towards Damascus.

The security sources stated that since then, a "systematic illegal campaign" to smuggle soldiers and officers across the border has been under way, with Lebanese security forces actively pursuing these individuals, primarily young men, to deport them.

"A lot of Syrians fled to Lebanon, and many are still entering illegally," one of the sources said.

"Many young Syrians are arriving in buses after crossing illegally. The majority are officers and soldiers, while others have served briefly in the army but still fear being arrested," added the source. "Once they are stopped in Lebanon, they are sent back to Syria."

The security sources described multiple incidents where residents of some towns, suspecting Syrians were on board buses, attempted to stop the vehicles, interrogate the passengers, and then alerted security forces.

"In Tripoli [north] a few days ago, the army had to intervene to prevent residents of a neighbourhood from attacking a bus they had stopped. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the passengers were all Syrian soldiers. The army detained the Syrian men and sent them back across the border," one of the sources said.

Lebanon has been watching the collapse of the Syrian regime with a sense of anxiety. Syria invaded Lebanon in 1976 during the early years of the Lebanese civil war, maintaining an occupation and exerting substantial military and political influence for nearly 30 years before being forced out in 2005.

The Syrian regime maintained a firm grip on Lebanese affairs, infiltrating almost all facets of life. Top jobs in Lebanon would only go to allies of Damascus, and opponents risked assassination. Many of the Syrian regime officials owned properties in Lebanon.

The collapse of Syria's army has also flooded the country with firearms, pushing Lebanese gun dealers to profit by purchasing cheap guns and smuggling them into Lebanon, security and political sources said.

Until ten days ago, about 3,000 pieces had already been smuggled through illegal border crossings, especially in the north.

Lebanon has long struggled with the widespread presence of firearms and weaponry, with the ruling establishment, which has governed since the civil war that lasted between 1975 and 1990, remaining heavily armed. Among the dominant groups is Hezbollah, which fought a prolonged and devastating war with Israel that ended last November following a US-brokered ceasefire.

Israel's war, coupled with Hezbollah's diminishing power, led to fears of internal strife in Lebanon, as other armed groups might attempt to challenge Hezbollah's dominance. US officials involved in brokering the ceasefire have warned that the possibility of a civil war cannot be ruled out.

As the rebels looked set to take over Damascus two weeks ago, Lebanon immediately closed all of its land border crossings with Syria except for a main one that links Beirut with the Syrian capital. But many illegal border crossings, especially in the north, kept running.

A security source with access to border crossing data clarified that some Syrian officials and prominent figures who entered Lebanon as Damascus fell to the rebels have already departed through legal border terminals, including the airport. However, others either remain in Lebanon or have left through illegal channels.

Last week, Lebanese security forces arrested the wife and daughter of Duraid Al Assad, the nephew of ousted Syrian leader Bashar Al Assad, at Beirut’s Rafic Hariri International Airport. According to local media, the arrests were made after they were found with "forged" Syrian passports. This incident led to the halt of work at the Syrian embassy in Beirut amid suspicions that the passports were forged there.