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Lebanon's army light on firepower and fighting experience
Beirut, Aug 8, 2006 The Lebanese army, which is preparing for the possibility of dispatching 15,000 troops to the south once Israel withdraws, counts 60,000 active soldiers but lacks significant firepower and fighting experience, experts say. According to the "The Military Balance", an annual report published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, the army numbers about 70,000 troops, including reservists. However, most are more police officers than soldiers. At most 25,000 or so have experience from the 1975-1990 civil war and the army is considered more of a peacekeeping force than an offensive one. Even so, experts say the troops could play an important role helping to maintain security in southern Lebanon to ensure the area is free of Hezbollah guerillas once Israeli forces withdraw. The army has 310 main battle tanks, mainly old Soviet-made T-54s and T-55s, 24 helicopters, 1,257 armoured personnel carriers and 541 artillery pieces. There is also a a paramilitary force of 13,000 men, an air force of 1,100 and still smaller navy of around 1,000. The Lebanese army has asked other Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, to urgently provide military equipment, according to a government source who spoke on condition of anonymity. When Israeli troops pulled out of south Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation, Lebanese troops did not deploy to the border. Instead, they left the area under the control of Hezbollah, whose capture of two soldiers in a deadly raid on July 12 prompted the current Israeli onslaught. Even so 29 of its troops have been killed and 81 wounded by Israeli air strikes on its positions since the offensive in southern Lebanon began. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Nuclear Space Technology at Space-Travel.com
Israeli minister says Russian weapons arming 'terrorists'
Moscow, Aug 8, 2006 Israeli Internal Security Minister Avi Dichter said in an interview published Tuesday that "all the terrorists surrounding Israel" are using Russian weapons. |
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