The US has encouraged Syria to consider deploying forces into eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, but Damascus is hesitating over fears of being drawn into a broader Middle East war and inflaming sectarian tensions, Reuters reported Tuesday.
The report is based on conversations with 10 sources, including six senior Syrian officials and government advisers, two Western diplomats, a European official and a Western intelligence source. According to them, the government of Ahmed al-Sharaa cautiously examined the possibility of a cross-border operation but has so far held back. Among the risks identified by Damascus are a potential Iranian missile attack on Syrian territory and the prospect of unrest among the country's Shiite minority, in a state already grappling with recurring sectarian strife.
The proposal reflects growing efforts to disarm Hezbollah. Reuters reported that the idea was first raised in talks between US and Syrian officials last year and resurfaced again around the start of the current war.
A senior Syrian official said Washington had given a green light in principle for an operation in eastern Lebanon to assist in dismantling Hezbollah's arsenal when conditions allow. The Western intelligence source and the European official added that the US had urged the Syrian army to take a more active role in confronting Hezbollah in Lebanon, including the possibility of an incursion into the country's east.
However, another senior Syrian official said Damascus and its Arab allies agreed that Syria should remain outside the war and limit itself to defensive measures. Since early February, Syria has deployed rocket units and thousands of troops along its border with Lebanon, but has defined these steps as purely defensive.
