Logistic obstacles are preventing the Lebanese Army from positioning at border posts with Syria in the town of Tufeil, east of Lebanon, military sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Saturday.
The sources confirmed that the Lebanese Army had no posts at the Lebanese side of its direct border with Syria near the town of Tufeil because roads have not been laid there yet.
“Such logistic conditions hindered the permanent positioning of the army at the border with Syria. There are no other causes for that,” the sources said, adding that the army carries out patrols in the town, reaching the borderline with its neighboring country.
The logistic obstacles also prompted the army personnel to fortify their posts at the western entrance of Tufeil, around six kilometers away from the borderline with Syria.
The town is located at the end of the eastern mountain belt's plains, surrounded by Syrian territories from the north, east and the south. At the western side of the town lie the villages of Ham, Maaraboun, and Britel.
During the Syrian war, extremist groups and Syrian opposition groups controlled Tufeil but later withdrew following battles launched last year by the Syrian regime and Hezbollah in western Qalamoun.
Field sources said the Lebanese Army fortified their posts in the Ras al-Harf area, which lies 1.5 kilometers away from the town of Tufeil, adding that the army is now stationed at the western entrance of the eastern mountain belt’s plains, but did not expand its presence in posts near the border with Syria.
“There are no armed men in Tufeil, neither Syrians nor from Hezbollah. However, on the other side of the border, there is a Syrian Army post,” the sources noted.
Currently, a Lebanese Army post is located on a hill overlooking the town of Tufeil.
The Lebanese state already kicked off a plan to build roads to access the town, following a request presented by former Interior Minister Nohad Mashnouq to the government.
