Lebanon dismantles network linked to Hezbollah, Assad regime
DAMASCUS, Syria (North Press) – Lebanon has foiled a security sabotage plot targeting Syria’s coastal region after dismantling a network operating between the two countries and linked to Lebanon’s Hezbollah and members of the former al-Assad regime, sources told Asharq Al-Awsat on Thursday.
Judicial sources said five people — three Syrians and two Lebanese — were arrested as members of the network, which allegedly worked to smuggle fighters from Syria into Lebanon through the northern border before transferring them to Beirut’s southern suburbs and then to a training camp in the Baalbek-Hermel area.
Among those detained is Syrian Colonel Manaf Ali Safi, who previously headed one of the security branches under Syria’s al-Assad regime, the sources said.
The sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that authorities seized weapons and ammunition from the network, including hand grenades, machine guns and sniper rifles.
According to the Saudi newspaper, the detainees admitted to receiving training from Hezbollah militants and cadres under the command of a person known as “Hajj Alaa.”
The detainees claimed the training was intended to prepare for any potential attack by Syrian forces on Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley.
The sources said the network was managed by former Syrian army Brig. Gen. Mohammed Jaber, who is currently in Moscow and is known for his close ties to former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Damascus had previously asked Lebanon to hand over dozens of former Syrian regime personnel through two lists. According to Asharq Al-Awsat, the first list included the names of 200 former regime members, while the second included 100 people who had entered Lebanon through unofficial border crossings.
The Syrian Foreign and Interior ministries have not commented on the matter so far.