Damascus, March 5 (SANA) Syria’s Defense Ministry said Thursday that the deployment of army reinforcements along the borders with Lebanon and Iraq is a defensive step and does not target any country or external party.
In a statement to SANA, the ministry’s Media and Communication Directorate said the deployment is part of the Syrian Arab Army’s sovereign duty to protect the country’s international borders and prevent smuggling and other illicit activities.
It stressed that the move is “defensive and organizational,” describing it as a routine sovereign measure aimed at strengthening border security.
Border guard units, supported by reconnaissance battalions, are conducting surveillance along the border strip, carrying out field patrols and monitoring movement at crossings and border routes to detect suspicious activities that could pose security threats, the statement said.
The deployment also aims to curb smuggling operations and other illegal activities in some border areas and protect villages and towns along the frontier from exploitation by smuggling networks or outlaw groups.
Syria’s borders with Lebanon and Iraq extend across wide areas with complex terrain, which have long been exploited by the deposed regime for smuggling and illegal activities.
