Military aid meant to bolster forces that have been struggling to deal with over-flow violence from Syria, explains anonymous source.
BEIRUT – The United States has given six military helicopters to the Lebanese air force, a diplomatic source said on Wednesday, bolstering forces that have been struggling to deal with violence spreading over the border from Syria.
Iraqi Air Force Huey II helicopters [illustrative] – Photo: REUTERS/Erik de Castro
Syrian forces have occasionally breached the Lebanese border to battle with rebels who are fighting to oust Syrian President Bashar Assad and take refuge in Lebanese border towns. Syrian mortar bombs have also targeted Lebanese villages.
Few envision a fight between Lebanon and its much larger neighbor Syria, a country whose troops were garrisoned in Lebanon until 2005 and still has influence over the security services.
But Lebanon’s army is ill-equipped to deal with powerful internal militant groups, including the Shi’ite Muslim guerrilla and political movement Hezbollah, which the United States counts as a terrorist organization.
Last week, the US gave a $29.8 million, 42-meter coastal security craft to the Lebanese Navy to patrol and protect Lebanon’s sea border, the US Embassy said.
View original Jerusalem Post publication at: http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=295620





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