Word: bekaa
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...Syrians appeared to have embarked on a dangerous game. In the past two months, they have sent an additional 10,000 troops into the Bekaa Valley of eastern Lebanon, increasing their strength to nearly 50,000. At the same time, P.L.O. commandos have slipped back into northern Lebanon, swelling their ranks from 8,000 to at least 10,000. Among them: P.L.O. Chairman Yasser Arafat, who in his first trip back to Lebanon since his forced departure from Beirut last summer reportedly spent a day visiting guerrilla units in the Bekaa Valley. The Syrian war machine, shattered by Israel during...
...Soviets have been equally generous in providing more conventional arms to the Syrians. Since the Lebanese conflict began, the Soviets have supplied Syria with about 100 fighter aircraft to replace those lost in dogfights over the Bekaa Valley. The bulk of the new aircraft are advanced MiG-23s. Some 300 to 400 T-62 and T-72 tanks have been added to the Syrian arsenal, well in excess of the number of older and smaller T-54s and T-55s lost in Lebanon. The Soviets have also provided about 200 armored personnel carriers, and between 600 and 800 trucks...
...term strategy remains murky. The Soviets may urge Syria to keep its forces in Lebanon, thus depriving the Reagan Administration of a diplomatic victory and keeping tensions in the area high. Moscow may also be betting that its buildup will deter the Israelis from attacking Syrian troops in the Bekaa Valley...
...further evidence of how fragile the situation in Lebanon remains, Israeli and Syrian forces engaged in sporadic artillery duels in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, where both sides have been bolstering their forces. The Soviets have sent substantial reinforcements to Syria, whose army is now in better shape than it was a year ago. Prime Minister Begin denied a charge by Moscow that Israel was planning a "piratic raid" on Syria. Said he: "All these threats have a totally artificial basis...
There was a grim reminder last week of other risks, those that go with the lingering Syrian and Palestinian presence in divided Lebanon. A car packed with explosives blew up in front of a Palestine Liberation Organization command center 30 miles east of Beirut in the Syrian-controlled Bekaa Valley, killing at least 32 Syrians and Palestinians. An anti-P.L.O. group calling itself the Front to Liberate Lebanon from Foreigners claimed responsibility for the attack...