Ook in Libanon nu gevechten tegen radicale islamitische groeperingen.

quote:

BEIRUT, Lebanon — Islamist fighters from Syria killed 10 Lebanese soldiers and appeared to have captured more than a dozen others in an armed offensive that left them in a tense battle for control of a Lebanese border town, Lebanon’s army chief said Sunday.

The new toll was reported one day after fighters from Syria — who included members of rebel brigades, an affiliate of Al Qaeda and another extremist group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria — carried out a series of attacks on army checkpoints that left them largely in control of the town of Arsal.

The two-day clash was the most recent spillover into Lebanon from the civil war in neighboring Syria. The two countries share a complex web of political and sectarian ties that have made the violence in Syria resonate in its smaller neighbor, where street clashes, car bombs and political deadlock related to the war in Syria have been common.

Residents, aid workers and Syrian rebels reached in Arsal on Sunday said that insurgents had seized the town but that it was surrounded by the Lebanese Army, which was shelling it.

Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Gen. Jean Kahwaji, Lebanon’s army chief, said that insurgents had launched what appeared to be a well-prepared, coordinated attack on the town.

“This terrorist attack that was launched yesterday wasn’t an accident, but was prepared in advance and it seems a long time ago, waiting for the right time,” he said.

General Kahwaji said that the army was fighting back with mortar and artillery fire and fighter jets, and that 10 Lebanese soldiers had been killed and 25 others wounded. Thirteen were missing and were believed to have been captured.

Supporting that theory, a video that purports to show the captured members of the security forces was posted Sunday on YouTube. It showed seven soldiers in camouflage and eight police officers in blue uniforms crowded into a living room. One by one, they held up their identification cards and said they were defecting to the rebels. Then an unidentified man in brown camouflage served them candy.

It was not possible to determine whether the defections were genuine.

The clashes in Arsal began early Friday, after the Lebanese Army arrested Imad Ahmad Jomaa, who was said to be the commander of an Islamist rebel group in Syria.

An aid worker who entered Arsal on Sunday said the fighting had worsened conditions for the town’s residents and for the many Syrians who had fled there to escape the civil war in their country. Lebanese soldiers were nowhere to be seen, and men in black masks were running checkpoints on the main roads, the aid workers said, speaking on the condition of anonymity so as not to endanger her work.

Qassem Zein, a doctor in a makeshift hospital in Arsal, said that 14 Syrian refugees had been killed and dozens wounded since the fighting started. He said he had also treated rebels fighters from Syria and other Arab countries.

http://www.nytimes.com/20(...)ver-border-town.html

quote:

Op zondag 3 augustus 2014 22:30 schreef Nintex het volgende:

[..]

Er is zelfs een topic:

http://forum.fok.nl/topic/2134656

Wat mij opvalt is dat ze overal GRAD's gebruiken, je ziet telkens van die niet al te secure raketwerpers verschijnen.

quote:

Op zondag 3 augustus 2014 22:59 schreef haags_kwartiertje het volgende:
Het wordt steeds gezelliger in de wereld..

quote:

Op zondag 3 augustus 2014 23:34 schreef Red_85 het volgende:

[..]

Al shabaab.

Ethiopie/ iritrea
Somalie

quote:

Op zondag 3 augustus 2014 23:34 schreef Red_85 het volgende:

[..]

Al shabaab in Somalie
Ethiopie/ iritrea
Korea's zijn ook nog officieel in oorlog.
Birma / Myanmar, nog steeds veel onvrede
China en de bezetting van Tibet
China met zijn oeigoeren.
Libie. Sinds vorige week geen ambasadeur meer te vinden.

quote:

Op zondag 3 augustus 2014 23:45 schreef J0kkebr0k het volgende:

[..]

Somalië en China heb ik ook genoemd, Korea's niet dus die zet ik er ook ff in en Libië inderdaad ook

quote:

Op maandag 4 augustus 2014 08:58 schreef thom_05 het volgende:
Wel geinig dat nu elk persoon met een kalasjnikov lid is van Isis of is geallieerd aan al Qaeda of iets in die zin en tot gisteren waren ze nergens.
Ze hebben Irak zelfs overgenomen met niet meer dan 1000 man.

quote:

Op maandag 4 augustus 2014 12:11 schreef thom_05 het volgende:

[..]

Nieuws.

quote:

Op maandag 4 augustus 2014 12:31 schreef Ryan3 het volgende:

[..]

Begint er wel bijna op te lijken, hoewel het Noord- en Zuid-Korea conflict alsmede de burgeroorlog in de Oekraïne nog de resultanten zijn van de Koude Oorlog natuurlijk.

quote:

Op maandag 4 augustus 2014 13:05 schreef Ryan3 het volgende:

[..]

Ook wel te begrijpen ergens, lees bijv. net op de FP dat Marcouch en Arib overspoeld zijn met bedreigingen vanwege support aan de Marokkaanse boot op de Gay Parade door hun geloofsgenootjes........... heb je dat ook nog, zeg maar........

quote:

Lebanon army advances against militants, death toll rises

ARSAL, Lebanon: The Lebanese Army Monday regained control of a strategic hill overlooking the northeastern town of Arsal, where three-day clashes between the military and militants from Syria have killed 14 soldiers.

Soldiers succeeded in overrunning the Ras al-Sarj hill, giving the military an upper hand in the fierce battle, a security source told The Daily Star. Control over the elevated land will allow the Army to monitor movements of militants on the ground and strike their gathering spots with better precision.

The Army also succeeded in pushing the militants to the outskirts of the town in Wadi Hamayyed near the border with Syria, the source, speaking on condition of anonymity said.

Around 6 p.m., Syrian jets fired 10 rockets on the outskirts of Arsal, where militants are said to be hiding, a security source said.

In the evening, Syrian military planes bombed a convoy of militants that was en route to Arsal causing "innumerable casualties, a security sorce said.

In the worst Syria-linked violence in Lebanon, the Army said the clashes with “Takfiri, terrorist groups” killed 14 soldiers and wounded 86 others, while 22 were still missing.

At least 12 civilians have died as a result of the fighting, including five, while 50 militants were killed, the source said, adding that the military arrested three in a raid Sunday that freed two wounded soldiers.

The Army said it deployed reinforcements and strengthened its posts in the town with dozens of Armored Personnel Carriers seen entering Arsal, where thousands of militants poured in Saturday afternoon.

Troops pounded militant hideouts as soldiers launched separate operations to retake Army posts that armed groups occupied over the weekend.

Earlier in the day, the Army said militants of different nationalities attacked Arsal residents, while a security source said gunmen prevented dozens of families from fleeing the violence.

“The terrorist groups are attacking the people of Arsal, preventing them from leaving the town,” the statement said, mentioning that “a number of citizens who refused to adhere to the groups” were “eliminated yesterday.”

Militants from Syria executed a Lebanese man in Arsal after he asked them to stop firing in the direction of a gas station his father owned in the area, a security source said.

The man, identified by his last name as Al-Sultan, was executed near the gas station on Al-Jammal road for making the request.

Thousands of Lebanese civilians and Syrian refugees were able to flee the village in packed cars and pickup trucks Monday morning, with the Army securing the evacuation of 50 Arsali families and Syrian refugees to the nearby village of Labweh.

The source said that the gunmen are stationed in two main positions in Arsal: the infirmary and a mosque. The militants are attempting to counter-attack from the hills overlooking the village, but have been unsuccessful so far.

The Army, which fought back against fierce clashes overnight Sunday, is planning to establish a defensive line to protect the eastern town from attacks from Syrian territory, a security source told The Daily Star earlier Monday.

The source said the line would be established with a width of 50 km and a depth of 15 km, to protect the town from attacks and weapons smuggling from the Syrian side of the border.

The Army was shelling bases in militant-controlled Al-Hosn neighborhood, the source added, and planned to settle in the area after pushing the gunmen out. Once that was accomplished, the Army would have secured all the entrances to Arsal, preventing the smuggling of militants or weapons into the town.

Insulating Arsal from Syrian territory is a priority for the Army, according to the source, because of the existence of extremist Syrian militants in the hills.

Militants attacked an Army base next to the technical institute Sunday, killing the unit’s commander, his assistant and two soldiers. The attack also led to the wounding of 25 soldiers, the most casualties in a single incident during the 48-hour-battle’s clashes.

The source explained that the Army was willing to go beyond Arsal in its military campaign and attack the militants’ lines on the town’s periphery.

Despite efforts by Muslim scholars to negotiate a cease-fire with the Army, Prime Minister Tammam Salam said the government would not accept a political solution to end the battle in Arsal, demanding the withdrawal of militants from Lebanon and the release of kidnapped soldiers and security personnel.

Salam also said that the country was facing a systematic attack by murky groups aiming to jeopardize the state and its institutions. His remarks came after he chaired an exceptional Cabinet meeting to address developments in Arsal.

Initially it was believed that the clashes and the kidnapping of 31 Lebanese security forces - 15 Army and 16 ISF according to security sources - was sparked by the detainment of Imad Ahmad Jomaa, a prominent Syrian rebel commander. However, speaking at a rare news conference Sunday, chief of the Lebanese Army, Gen. Jean Kahwagi said the attack was premeditated.

“What happened today is far more dangerous than what some people believe,” he said. “The terrorist attack was not an attack by chance or coincidence. It was planned long ago, waiting for the appropriate time.”

The Army said Saturday that Jomaa confessed to belonging to Nusra Front.

Bron: http://dailystar.com.lb/N(...)a.ashx#axzz39Qw7lmq7

twitter:

HaraldDoornbos twitterde op zaterdag 02-08-2014 om 23:36:11 #Lebanon Sunni town of Aarsal surrounded by Shia &Christian villages. On map, green area north-east of Baalbek: http://t.co/SVtHbPfYJS reageer retweet

quote:

Op maandag 4 augustus 2014 20:46 schreef Proximo het volgende:
Niet verbazingwekkend

Ik vraag me af wanneer het vuur ten zuiden van de middenlandse zee weer oplaait

quote:

As Syria's War Cuts into Lebanon, Analysts Weigh What's Next

The battle in the northern Lebanese town of Arsal is the latest round of spillover from Syria's conflict into Lebanon.

Islamist fighters from Syria, including elements from the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra, have now killed 10 Lebanese soldiers and captured more than a dozen others in an offensive on checkpoints controlled by the Lebanese army. The battle in the northern Lebanese town of Arsal is the latest round of spillover from Syria's conflict into Lebanon.

Extremist fighters based in Syria are thought to have been behind numerous car bombs in Beirut, often targeting neighborhoods considered strongholds of Hezbollah, the Shiite militant group that has been fighting in Syria alongside Bashar al-Assad.

But as extremists drove through Arsal on Saturday, many wondered if Lebanon had reached a watershed moment.

General Jean Kahwaji, the head of the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF), said the insurgents' attack was well-prepared and coordinated, the New York Times reports. By Sunday jihadists had seized Arsal; the LAF had surrounded the town and shelled it, in a bid to retake control.

We asked Faysal Itani, a fellow at the Atlantic Council focusing on Hezbollah's involvement in Syria and the crisis's spillover into Lebanon, and Theodore Karasik, research director at Dubai-based thinktank INEGMA, to weigh in on how events could play out for the LAF, Hezbollah and the Syrian extremists fighting on Lebanese terrain.

Syria Deeply: Why did extremists stage this attack now?

Faysal Itani: Because the Lebanese armed forces and Hezbollah at the same time are carrying out an operation to clear eastern Lebanon, and the mountains between Syria and Lebanon, from Syrian militant groups. And they're going after them quite aggressively. The LAF is going after them in Lebanon, and Hezbollah is going after them in Syria in the area along the border.

So one way to look at this in terms of timing is as a reaction or preemptive action against an operation that has been going on for a few weeks now. Obviously the LAF is one of the belligerents in this conflict, and so is Hezbollah. They intercept a lot of weapons and fighter flows into Lebanon, and go after them in Arsal, where they've established a presence. In some cases they hand them over to Syrian security forces. The LAF is the rear guard of this operation, and Hezbollah is the offensive side.

Ted Karasik: This is not the first time that northern Lebanon has been faced with this kind of threat from salafists from Syria. It is likely that there will be more pitched battles that will continue, but in terms of having big advances into Lebanon, I don't think that will occur because the Sunnis of northern Lebanon and the extremist tendencies there do not favor at all those of al-Nusra and ISIS. But it will continue to be bloody.

It's part of the natural progression of the expansion of the battle space. Nusra is conducting an expansion of the front, trying to punch a hole into northern Lebanon. But I think it's going to be a long time until the Sunnis in that area acquiesce.

Syria Deeply: How will this play out?

Itani: These groups have been operating in Lebanon for a while now. They have carried out numerous attacks in southern Beirut. Their ability to carry out those attacks has been hurt now, because Hezbollah and the LAF have been going after them in Lebanon, in the areas where they have been making bombs and planning attacks.

I don't think [the extremists] are going away, but the combined efforts of the LAF and Hezbollah – as long as the LAF remains a unified entity – means they can't gain a really strong foothold in the Bekaa Valley. Where they might be able to present more of a challenge is in northern Lebanon, where there is some growing sympathy for these jihadist groups. Of course the north is the least developed, poorest part of the country, which helps their cause. But the LAF and Hezbollah are a capable force together, and Lebanese Sunnis don't generally have extremist tendencies. So I don't think this will be an area of great success for jihadist groups.

Karasik: Are we crossing the rubicon, will Hezbollah have to get involved? We'll have to wait and see. The LAF should be able to take care of this problem itself; it has had a lot of experience with this kind of activity in terms of counterterrorism. They will have a better handle on the situation domestically, which may keep Hezbollah out at least in the short term.

Bron: http://www.syriadeeply.or(...)anon-analysts-weigh/

quote:

Strijders nemen bus Libanees leger onder vuur

Onbekende gewapende lieden hebben dinsdag in Libanon het vuur geopend op een bus die militairen vervoerde. Dat heeft het leger bekendgemaakt.
Strijders nemen bus Libanees leger onder vuur Foto: Novum

Het voertuig was onderweg in het noorden van Libanon, waar de krijgsmacht strijd levert met Syrische extremistische rebellen. Bij de beschieting in de hoofdstad Tripoli raakten zeven militairen gewond.

De aanval lijkt verband te hebben met het conflict tussen het leger en de Syrische terreurbeweging in de grensplaats Arsal.

Zaterdag stak het aan al-Qaeda gelieerde Jabhat al-Nusra de grens over, waarna gevechten met de krijgsmacht uitbraken. In Tripoli wonen vooral soennitische moslims. Velen van hen steunen de rebellen in Syrië die vechten tegen het regime van president Bashar Assad.

Sinds afgelopen weekend hebben gewapende lieden in Tripoli meerdere malen het vuur geopend op militairen. Het leger probeert momenteel Arsal te heroveren op de rebellen.

Bron: http://www.nu.nl/buitenla(...)nees-leger-vuur.html

quote:

Lebanese Army and ISIS clash in Arsal after Nusra withdraws


ARSAL, Lebanon: Lebanese troops Wednesday fought heavy battles with ISIS jihadists who have insisted on keeping up the fight despite a large number of Nusra Front militants withdrawing from the northeastern border town of Arsal.

Security sources told The Daily Star that the clashes were centered around Wadi Sweid and Wadi Hosn, the farthest east points in Arsal close to the border with Syria, and at Ras al-Sarj, the main entrance to the town.

They said the gunbattles pitted Lebanese troops against jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), particularly those groups loyal to Ahmad Jomaa, the Syrian national whose arrest by the Lebanese Army over the weekend triggered the battle in Arsal.

Jomaa had been a member of the Nusra Front until he recently pledged allegiance to ISIS, the sources said.

Several local officials – including security sources, Arsal's deputy mayor and the Future Movement – confirmed that the majority of Islamist militants from the Nusra Front withdrew from the Bekaa Valley hamlet overnight.

The armed groups were split over attempts to end the fighting. While Nusra Front wanted to leave Arsal and move to the outskirts, ISIS insisted on staying to continue fighting the Army, the sources said.

A delegation from the Committee of Muslim Scholars, which negotiatied an ill-fated cease-fire Tuesday and the handover of soldiers held captive by the militants, is expected to visit Arsal again Wednesday to resume mediation efforts to end the fighting.

Arsal’s Future Movement official Bakr Hujeiri told The Daily Star earlier that negotiations were ongoing toward a complete withdrawal and the handover of Lebanese soldiers held captive by the militants.

A total of 38 security forces - 22 soldiers and 19 policemen from the Internal Security Forces - were missing after jihadists from Syria overran Arsal on Saturday. Three members of the Internal Security Forces were handed over Tuesday.

According to a security source, there is a decent chance that some abducted soldiers will be released Wednesday.

The Committee of Muslim Scholars underlined the need for a negotiated truce.

"It is important to keep working on this [cease-fire] initiative because it is the only solution that could end the bloodshed, particularly of innocent civilians,” head of the Muslim Scholars Committee Sheikh Salem Jdeideh said after visiting fellow member Sheikh Salem Rafei at hospital.

Rafei and two other members of the Scholars Committee were wounded when their vehicle came under attack as they entered Arsal Monday night to negotiate a truce.

Rafei, however, was taken to hospital in the northern city of Tripoli Tuesday after the wound in his leg became infected.

Clashes between jihadists and Lebanese troops raged until the early morning hours in Arsal after militants targeted several military posts, shattering a temporary cease-fire mediated by the Muslim Scholars.

Security sources said machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades were used in the fighting which dwindled at daybreak.

Lebanese Army fired artillery shells to repel militant attacks, the sources told The Daily Star.

Sheikh Mohammad Hujeiri, who is following up on mediation efforts, accused Hezbollah of hindering the militants’ withdrawal.

“Gunmen were preparing to pull out, but their mission was obstructed when Hezbollah, backed the Lebanese Army, shelled the town,” Hujeiri told The Daily Star.

He said the jihadists expressed willingness to withdraw once a cease-fire goes into effect.

The Lebanese Army agreed to a 24-hour humanitarian cease-fire to allow the evacuation of wounded civilians from Arsal and support ongoing efforts to release kidnapped soldiers held by Islamist militants.

The cease-fire, which lasted nearly three hours, allowed Lebanese Red Cross ambulances to enter the town and transport wounded civilians to nearby hospitals, sources in Arsal told The Daily Star.

A convoy carrying vital humanitarian supplies for thousands of needy people left Chtaura after midday to head to Arsal, the first aid convoy since the fighting broke out five days ago.

The death toll the Arsal clashes stands at 17 soldiers, 50 militants and 12 civilians killed, according to a security source.

Bron: ARSAL, Lebanon: Lebanese troops Wednesday fought heavy battles with ISIS jihadists who have insisted on keeping up the fight despite a large number of Nusra Front militants withdrawing from the northeastern border town of Arsal.

Security sources told The Daily Star that the clashes were centered around Wadi Sweid and Wadi Hosn, the farthest east points in Arsal close to the border with Syria, and at Ras al-Sarj, the main entrance to the town.

They said the gunbattles pitted Lebanese troops against jihadists from the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), particularly those groups loyal to Ahmad Jomaa, the Syrian national whose arrest by the Lebanese Army over the weekend triggered the battle in Arsal.

Jomaa had been a member of the Nusra Front until he recently pledged allegiance to ISIS, the sources said.

Several local officials – including security sources, Arsal's deputy mayor and the Future Movement – confirmed that the majority of Islamist militants from the Nusra Front withdrew from the Bekaa Valley hamlet overnight.

The armed groups were split over attempts to end the fighting. While Nusra Front wanted to leave Arsal and move to the outskirts, ISIS insisted on staying to continue fighting the Army, the sources said.

A delegation from the Committee of Muslim Scholars, which negotiatied an ill-fated cease-fire Tuesday and the handover of soldiers held captive by the militants, is expected to visit Arsal again Wednesday to resume mediation efforts to end the fighting.

Arsal’s Future Movement official Bakr Hujeiri told The Daily Star earlier that negotiations were ongoing toward a complete withdrawal and the handover of Lebanese soldiers held captive by the militants.

A total of 38 security forces - 22 soldiers and 19 policemen from the Internal Security Forces - were missing after jihadists from Syria overran Arsal on Saturday. Three members of the Internal Security Forces were handed over Tuesday.

According to a security source, there is a decent chance that some abducted soldiers will be released Wednesday.

The Committee of Muslim Scholars underlined the need for a negotiated truce.

"It is important to keep working on this [cease-fire] initiative because it is the only solution that could end the bloodshed, particularly of innocent civilians,” head of the Muslim Scholars Committee Sheikh Salem Jdeideh said after visiting fellow member Sheikh Salem Rafei at hospital.

Rafei and two other members of the Scholars Committee were wounded when their vehicle came under attack as they entered Arsal Monday night to negotiate a truce.

Rafei, however, was taken to hospital in the northern city of Tripoli Tuesday after the wound in his leg became infected.

Clashes between jihadists and Lebanese troops raged until the early morning hours in Arsal after militants targeted several military posts, shattering a temporary cease-fire mediated by the Muslim Scholars.

Security sources said machine gun fire and rocket-propelled grenades were used in the fighting which dwindled at daybreak.

Lebanese Army fired artillery shells to repel militant attacks, the sources told The Daily Star.

Sheikh Mohammad Hujeiri, who is following up on mediation efforts, accused Hezbollah of hindering the militants’ withdrawal.

“Gunmen were preparing to pull out, but their mission was obstructed when Hezbollah, backed the Lebanese Army, shelled the town,” Hujeiri told The Daily Star.

He said the jihadists expressed willingness to withdraw once a cease-fire goes into effect.

The Lebanese Army agreed to a 24-hour humanitarian cease-fire to allow the evacuation of wounded civilians from Arsal and support ongoing efforts to release kidnapped soldiers held by Islamist militants.

The cease-fire, which lasted nearly three hours, allowed Lebanese Red Cross ambulances to enter the town and transport wounded civilians to nearby hospitals, sources in Arsal told The Daily Star.

A convoy carrying vital humanitarian supplies for thousands of needy people left Chtaura after midday to head to Arsal, the first aid convoy since the fighting broke out five days ago.

The death toll the Arsal clashes stands at 17 soldiers, 50 militants and 12 civilians killed, according to a security source.

Bron: http://www.dailystar.com.(...)l.ashx#axzz39aszXqQa

quote:

Op zondag 26 oktober 2014 13:35 schreef Hathor het volgende:

[..]

Wat doet het Libanese leger in Libie?

quote:

Op zondag 26 oktober 2014 13:46 schreef Jellereppe het volgende:
Spanningen tussen de twee kernmachten India (3.287.590 km²) en Pakistan (796.095 km²) om een provincie ter grootte van Zwitserland (41.285 km²) genaamd Kashmir. Geen idee waar ze ruzie om maken. Genoeg grond alleen enorme bevolkingen. Alleen als ik de foto's zie van Kashmir dan begrijp ik weer wel waarom beide de provincie als de hunne beschouwen.

[ afbeelding ]

[ afbeelding ]

[ afbeelding ]

quote:

Op zondag 26 oktober 2014 13:49 schreef Jellereppe het volgende:

[..]

Nee. Je vroeg wie vult hem aan.