A truck carrying Syrians who illegally entered Lebanese territory is stopped at the military checkpoint at the entrance to the village of Chadra, in Akkar, North Lebanon, on Aug. 17, 2023. (Courtesy of: Michel Hallak)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Army prevented 700 Syrian citizens from informally entering Lebanon across the eastern border this past week, it announced Wednesday evening, amid broader heightened security measures targeting Syrians.
"As part of the fight against human trafficking and illegal immigration across land borders, an army unit thwarted, on various dates over the past week, attempts by around 700 Syrians to infiltrate the border between Lebanon and Syria," the army said in a statement.
Last Thursday, the army told L'Orient-Le Jour it had arrested around 100 Syrians in Akkar who had entered Lebanon through informal means.
Numerous people- and drug-smuggling networks exist between Lebanon and Syria due to a porous border and a lack of effective state authority in certain regions.