Lebanon decided Wednesday to increase the monitoring of its border with Syria to clamp down on smuggling and to prosecute violators and smugglers.
Following a meeting held Wednesday at the Presidential Palace under President Michel Aoun, the Higher Defense Council said Lebanon would exert all efforts in coordination with concerned agencies to control the border to prevent the smuggling of goods, in addition to the closure of all illegitimate crossings.
“The Council also decided to devise a comprehensive plan to establish military, security and customs control centers,” Lebanon’s state-run news agency said.
A report broadcast by a local television channel last week said the amount of smuggled fuel to Syria is estimated at $400 million per year.
On Monday, a Lebanese customs force was attacked as it seized two diesel trucks heading to an area bordering Syria in northern Lebanon.
Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat Wednesday that the smuggling is mainly taking place in the North, stretching from villages in northeast Lebanon’s Hermel area to the northwest.
“It is very difficult to control this area, which overlaps with Syrian territories,” the source said.
He said the roads used by the smugglers are known. “Lebanon cannot fully control the border without a political decision,” the source said, adding that the northern border area requires the presence of a large number of soldiers and monitoring equipment.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Aoun discussed the repercussions of smuggling to Syria on Lebanon’s public finances.
He called for strict measures against violators, said a statement read by Secretary General of the Higher Defense Council Major General Mahmoud al-Asmar.
Prime Minister Hassan Diab also discussed during the meeting the financial and economic repercussions of smuggling, especially on the state treasury, and the logistical obstacles that prevent control on land borders.
