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Fears grow in Lebanon as 10,000 Syrian troops arrive on the border Syrian troops deploy on the northern side of the Syrian-Lebanese borders Syrian troops deploy on the northern side of the Syrian-Lebanese borders Nicholas Blanford in Hekr Janin Syria has massed thousands of troops along its border with northern Lebanon in what officials in Beirut fear is a prelude to the first incursion since Syrian forces pulled out three years ago. Although Damascus insists that its forces are conducting an antismuggling operation, the Lebanese Government is eyeing the moves with unease, believing that the unusual scale of the deployment...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has told the Syrian military to raise its readiness, pledging not to abandon support for Lebanese resistance against Israel. In an annual address on the anniversary of the foundation of the Syria Arab Army, Assad called on the military to "work on more preparedness and raise readiness of all units". "We are facing international circumstances and regional challenges that require caution, alertness, readiness and preparedness," Assad said in the written address. Diplomats in Damascus say the Syrian army has been on alert since the Israeli onslaught on Lebanon began on July 12 after Hizbollah fighters captured...

DEBKAfile Exclusive: Assad tells Syrian army to step up state of readiness and takes two further provocative steps August 1, 2006, 1:05 AM (GMT+02:00)Syrian military intelligence agents detonated a bomb at the Golan border fence near Kuneitra, though causing no casualties, and the Syrian president put defense minister Gen. Hassan Turkemeni in charge of military assistance to Hizballah. He also instructed chief of staff Gen. Ali Habib to personally oversee Syrian-Iranian cooperation for military consignments to Hizballah. In his order of the day to the Syrian army, Bashar Assad wrote: “I call on all units, divisions, brigades and battalions to...

Syrian troop move 'encourages' US Syria's pledge to pull its troops from Lebanon has been cautiously welcomed in Washington, amid continuing mass rallies in support of its presence. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was a "positive development" but she and other top officials called for the withdrawal to be speeded up. Damascus has promised to give the UN a timetable for pulling out its 14,000 troops and its intelligence agents. Sunday saw a new mass pro-Syrian rally, this time in the town of Nabatiyeh. Tens of thousands of people voiced support for the Syrian military presence and...

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - Syria has withdrawn nearly a third of its 14,000 troops from Lebanon and the remainder were expected to be gone - as demanded by the Bush administration - before Lebanese parliamentary elections slated to begin next month, senior Syrian officials said Sunday. The 10,000 troops still in the country have mainly pulled back to the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon, near the Syrian border. However, 1,000 intelligence officers remain in the country, mainly the north around Tripoli and Akkar and on the southern edge of Beirut. "The elections will take place and I think the troops...