Lebanese Army intercepts ships sending ammunition to Syrian rebels

Three containers, full of weapons from Libya have been intercepted by the Lebanese army. Intended for the Syrian rebels, ammunition included machine guns, shells and rockets

The Lebanese army has seized three containers of weapons that were being shipped from Libya to Syria on board a vessel.

The containers consisted of heavy machine guns, shells, rockets, rocket launchers and explosives according to a source. Another security official said that the ship, that was flying the flag of Sierra Leone, had obtained a permit to enter the port of Tripoli.

Syrian authorities and sources in the Lebanese security have repeatedly said that the weapons were smuggled from Lebanon to help rebels in Syria who seek to overthrow the regime of president Bashar Al-Assad.

The Lutfallah II left Libya before making a stop at the Egyptian port of Alexandria before it was stopped and searched by the Lebanese navy in the port of Selaata which is about 50 km from Beirut.

The source says that the ship\s captain and crew were handed over to the military intelligence in Tripoli for interrogation.

An AFP correspondent saw three military trucks ferrying the three containers to Beirut, escorted by eight military jeeps and a helicopter.

A source told reporters that the ship left the port this morning and was escorted by Lebanese Navy to an unknown destination.

Since March 2011, Syria is facing an unprecedented popular revolt against the violent repression of the regime. In just 13 months, violence has claimed more than 11,100 lives according to Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (OSDH).

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Posted by Taimoor Tariq on Apr 28 2012. Filed under Middle East. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry