The Army Command – Directorate of Orientation issued a statement today, Sunday, stating that some news websites published news about the Lebanese army forcing Syrian citizens to cross a river while trying to infiltrate across the northern border between Lebanon and Syria illegally.
The statement confirmed that the military units did not intervene in that specific area, noting that they did not receive any information indicating an illegal infiltration attempt in that location, and categorically denied that those units forced anyone to return through the river.
The statement clarified that the army is currently conducting search operations for the people who drowned, in coordination and cooperation with the Syrian authorities.
The command affirmed that the Lebanese army facilitates the voluntary return of Syrian refugees to Syrian territory through official border crossings, taking into account their safety and ensuring their safe arrival to the Syrian side, in coordination with “the competent Syrian authorities.”
In a related context, “Al-Ikhbariya Al-Suriya” reported the drowning of a group of 11 Syrians while trying to cross the border towards Syrian territory, coinciding with the storm hitting Lebanon and the Mediterranean basin region. It indicated that the incident occurred near the “Great River” stream in northern Lebanon, where civil defense teams succeeded in rescuing a man and two women, while search operations are still ongoing to find the missing.
