Usbat al-Ansar Splits

According to Lebanese judicial officials, a split has occurred in Usbat al-Ansar, a Sunni Islamist group linked to Osama bin Laden that operates from the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Sidon. The breakaway faction, which calls itself Jama'at al-Nur (Association of the Enlightened), is apparently being led by the eldest son of Hisham Shreidi, the founder of Usbat al-Ansar who was assassinated by Fatah in 1991. Shreidi's son, whose name was not identified by Lebanese officials, claims that his father never authorized Usbat al-Ansar's current leader, Ahmad Abd al-Karim al-Saadi (better known as Abu Mohjen), as his successor.

The new faction, which has its own mosque in Ain al-Hilweh, is believed to have attracted only a handful of the movement's 200-250 guerrillas. Security officials believe that it was responsible for a wave of threatening letters mailed to prominent public figures in Sidon.

Hezbollah Positions in South Lebanon Strengthened

The London-based newsletter Foreign Report, citing "intelligence sources in the region," reported on October 18 that Hezbollah has undertaken a major mobilization of military forces and equipment in south Lebanon, particularly since the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington. A concentrated string of 120mm mortar batteries and small squads of guerrillas armed with anti-tank missiles and wire-guided rockets has been established along the UN-demarcated blue line between Israel and Lebanon. New anti-tank mine fields have been laid in anticipation of an Israeli ground incursion. Several miles behind this perimeter, Hezbollah has established additional batteries of upgraded Katyusha rockets that can strike deep into northern Israel, guarded by batteries of 23mm and 49mm anti-aircraft guns.

Tensions between South Lebanese and Syrian Workers

Armed brawls erupted on October 23 between local residents and Syrian workers in the south Lebanese village of Khiam. According to witnesses, the fighting began when about a dozen Syrian workers employed by the Swedish telephone company Ericsson, which is currently upgrading phone line networks in the area, began cutting off illegal lines used by residents of the village. Around 40 people were involved in the brawl and a few suffered light injuries before police intervened and arrested several of the villagers.

Since the withdrawal of Israeli forces from south Lebanon in May 2000, hundreds of Syrian laborers have come to the area, angering local residents who say that they take away unskilled jobs by working for lower wages. Up to 1.4 million Syrian workers currently reside in Lebanon [see Syrian Workers in Lebanon: The Other Occupation in the February 2001 issue of MEIB].

Education Center Removes Page from History Textbook

On October 23, the Educational Center for Research and Development decided to remove a page from an elementary school history book because Lebanese officials objected to its use of the phrase "Arab conquest" to refer to the takeover of Lebanon by Arab forces over a millennium ago. In a statement released to the press, the center said that it had received complaints that the authors of the book equated the Arabization of Lebanon to "invasion and occupation." The center also announced that teachers should stop using the book until an amended version is published next year.

Earlier in the day, MP Bassem Yammout raised objections to the text. In addition to the above-mentioned passage, Yammout objected to an excerpt later in the same chapter which reads "they all went, and Lebanon stayed," apparently implying that Lebanese identity is more permanent and lasting than the country's Arab identity. Yammout also objected to the book's characterization of those executed by the Ottoman Governor Jamal Pasha between 1915 and 1916 as having "died for Lebanon," maintaining that no independent state of Lebanon existed at the time.

Number of SLA Members Sentenced to Death Reaches 54

On October 18, a Lebanese Military Tribunal sentenced five former members of the Israeli-backed South Lebanese Army (SLA) to death in absentia, bringing the total number of death sentences meted out since Israel's May 2000 withdrawal to 54. According to Lebanese law, the men will be granted a retrial if and when they are apprehended or turn themselves in. Eight other former SLA members were given prison sentences ranging from nine months to seven years.

Paraguay Cracks Down on Lebanese Islamists

A government prosecutor in Paraguay issued an arrest warrant on October 23 for a Lebanese resident of Brazil suspected of illegally financing Islamist extremist groups in the Middle East.

On September 21, Paraguayan police arrested 7 Lebanese nationals and several Jordanians in the "Triple Frontier" area along the borders of Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil, which has long been involved in raising and smuggling money for Islamist groups. A Lebanese-born Brazilian was also arrested. The police said that the suspects, who were charged with possessing forged papers, have financial links to Hezbollah.

Earlier this month, Paraguay's Interpol branch sent the Lebanese judiciary a letter requesting information about the suspects. The letter did not state whether the investigation is linked to the September 11 terrorist attacks against the US, though Lebanese officials have repeatedly denied that there is any connection.