By Xinhua
Beirut : The Lebanese army has formulated a military plan to safeguard order and stability ahead of and during the presidential elections, local daily al-Akhbar said on Friday.
Taking into consideration the tension between opposing political factions, the plan consists of deploying in Beirut some of the troops posted in south Lebanon to back brigades already positioned in this area, said the report.
It added that three Special Forces Battalions have been put on alert, including the Lebanese Army Commandos’ al-Maghawi unit.
The second, third and fifth brigades will also cover the vast area stretching from Beirut to the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon, it said.
Lebanon’s presidential election has been postponed from Nov. 12to Nov. 21 to give the anti-Syrian majority coalition and the Hezbollah-led opposition more time to break a deadlock over a compromise candidate.
Lebanese ruling coalition and the opposition have been separated by a wide chasm since six of the latter’s ministers resigned from Premier Fouad Seniora’s government in November last year.
The forecast presidential event has caused widespread concern among the Lebanese, fearing further disarrays and possible eruption of violence.