Army moves to cut off arms supply to Hezbollah

Lebanon’s army has begun setting up checkpoints near dozens of illegal border crossings with Syria and Israel in a bid to help prevent arms smuggling in the region, a Lebanese military official said today.

The plan is apparently aimed primarily at preventing arms supplies from reaching Hezbollah guerrillas – a key demand of last week’s UN ceasefire resolution that ended 34 days of ferocious fighting between Israel and Hezbollah.

Israel repeatedly attacked Lebanon’s roads, bridges and border crossings during the month-long war, saying it wanted to halt the transfer of weapons to Hezbollah, allegedly by Syria and Iran.

The military official said the army plan covers an estimated 60 illegal border crossings with Syria in northern and eastern Lebanon.