Syria: Reports of Dissension among Army Units Baseless

 Syria denied on Thursday reports of dissension among army units as baseless and untrue, as new press reports said hundreds of Syrians have fled into northern Lebanon on foot.

According to Syria’s state agency (SANA), a number of biased satellite channels have lately persisted to broadcast news claiming the occurrence of dissension among army units in a bid to harm the reputation of the military institution and deviate attention from the fact of conspiracy that targets Syria's resisting approach as well as destabilizing its security.

"As we denounce that, we stress that what has been reported is completely baseless and untrue and reflects the failure of the side which has circulated such news in fulfilling its mean objectives," a military source was quoted by SANA as saying. "It is a media distortion aimed at falsifying facts to hit the structure of national fabric of the Syrian society in general and the military institution in particular," the source said.

While noting that promoters of such false news have forgotten that the Syrian Arab Army is a national army, the military source recalled that throughout history, the Syrian Army has always been and is still a solid fabric and firmly corrected force in the face of the challenges and conspiracies hatched against the Syrian people and country.

Meanwhile, six members of the military and security forces on Wednesday were laid to rest escorted in a solemn procession from Tishreen Military Hospital after they were targeted on Tuesday by extremist terrorist groups. The martyrs' bodies were carried on hands, and the military band played the 'Martyr' and the 'Farewell' music.

A military source has said on Wednesday that extremist terrorist groups in Dara'a and its countryside cut roads, set up barricades and shot citizens using civilian vehicles with false car plates to transport weapons and explosives. "Army units confronted the terrorist groups, killing a number of terrorists and hunting others who escaped," the source added.

In a related development, the Syrian Television on Wednesday broadcast confessions of two members of two terrorist organizations that were arrested in Daraa and Lattakia, who admitted to attacking army and security forces, opening fire on passing cars and burning public properties. One of them admitted to assaulting the army and security forces and opening fire on passing cars on Daraa highway on Monday, including a vehicle belonging to the Commercial Bank of Syria. Another confessed that he was arrested from setting fire to busses, resisting patrols, and committing vandalism.

In other developments, press reports said hundreds of Syrians fled into northern Lebanon on foot after they said unrest broke out in the Syrian border town of Tall Kalakh. Those fleeing, mostly women and children, carried mattresses and their belongings as they entered Lebanon through an unofficial border crossing in the Wadi Khaled border region located in Lebanon's northern district of Akkar.

Mahmood Khazaal, the former mayor of the Lebanese town of Mkaybleh, located at the border, said some 700 people had fled and were seeking refuge with family and friends in Lebanon. "A few people fled last night but the pace really picked up this morning beginning at 8:00 am (0500 GMT)," Khazaal told AFP. "Most of those fleeing have family in the Wadi Khaled region."

An official crossing point between the two countries is located about a kilometer from Mkaybleh but those fleeing said the road leading to it had been blocked with stones and tires, thus preventing cars from reaching the border.

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