Nicholas Blanford (The Times) , September 24, 2008 Syria has massed thousands of troops along its border with northern Lebanon in what officials in Beirut fear is a prelude to the first incursion since Syrian forces pulled out three years ago. Although Damascus insists that its forces are conducting an anti-smuggling operation, the Lebanese Government is eyeing the moves with unease, believing that the unusual scale of the deployment has more to do with tensions between the two countries over recent sectarian clashes in northern Lebanon. “People around here are worried. We don't know why the Syrians have arrived like this,â€_ said Ali, 18, a farmer in the tiny hillside hamlet of Hekr Janin overlooking the border. Much of Lebanon's northern border with Syria follows the Kabir, or Great river, which despite its name, is...
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