Lebanese army advances to secure border
The Lebanese army has received a substantial arms shipment from the United States, allowing it to advance against terrorist groups in the mountainous border regions.
A Lebanese military source told Al-Monitor that this past week's unusually harsh climatic conditions in the country's mountainous areas acted to the advantage of the Lebanese army in the face of terrorist militants.
For many months, the prevailing impression has been that the terrorist groups deployed on Lebanon’s mountainous eastern border with Syria have been awaiting relief from the cold weather and snow, to intensify their operations against the Lebanese army and Hezbollah’s fighters.
However, the return of the cold in April has seemingly hindered the movement of the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra in these mountainous areas. Temperatures reached 8 degrees Celsius (46 degrees Fahrenheit) during the day and dropped to 3 degrees Celsius (37 degrees Fahrenheit) in the evening. With the latest snowstorm in the Anti-Lebanon Mountains, it seems that the terrorist groups’ expansion plans will likely be delayed for weeks.
Most importantly, the bad weather coincided with another military and logistic game changer, presenting the Lebanese army with an exceptional golden opportunity. The military source told Al-Monitor that the Lebanese army received this past week US-made weapons that tipped the balance in their favor on the battlefield against the terrorist groups.
