BEIRUT: The Syrian and Lebanese armies have agreed to stop illegal border crossings into Lebanon, days after the number of Syrian refugees entering the country via the north saw a sharp decline, a security source said Wednesday.
A large number of Syrian refugees have crossed into the northern Lebanese area of Wadi Khaled throughout April following a security crackdown by Syrian authorities on the Syrian town of Tall Kalakh, near the border with Lebanon. Syria has seen large-scale protests demanding reforms and an end to the Baath party rule in the tightly controlled Arab state.
An intensified Syrian security presence over the past week along the Arida border crossing and Nahr al-Kabir, the waterway that separates the countries, has led to a steady decrease in the number of refugees since its peak last Saturday.
Speaking to The Daily Star on condition of anonymity, the source said the two neighboring countries had reached an agreement in recent days that called for an end to illegal border crossings to and from Syria via Lebanon.
A 2,000-strong Lebanese Army unit that was dispatched as backup to the 50-kilomter border strip between Wadi Khaled and Arida in north Lebanon late in April has withdrawn, the source said, leaving permanent forces stationed there, which number 3,000.
The source said the Lebanese Army troop withdrawal was a cause of concern for border residents, particularly those of Wadi Khaled, after rumors spread that Syrian troops had planned to enter Lebanese territory in order to apprehend Syrian soldiers who had deserted the army.