Lebanese Army in Command in South
Muslim militias and Palestinian rebels will cede control of Lebanon’s embattled southern region to Lebanese army troops, who are under orders to defend their positions “even if they come under Israeli fire,” an official said Saturday.
The troops are to deploy in the troubled area along the Israeli border by Thursday, ending 15 years of militia and Palestinian control, Cabinet minister Mohammed Beydoun said.
“A brigade of some 3,000 soldiers backed by tanks will be deployed . . . along the confrontation lines with the Israelis and the southern coastal road linking Sidon to Ras Al Bayadah,” Beydoun said. “Law and order will only be the responsibility of the Lebanese army.”
He said the army deployment will go smoothly since the Palestinians and pro-Iranian Muslim fundamentalists agreed to withdraw their forces and weapons.
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