Information on whether Hezbollah and the South Lebanon Army (SLA) force residents of the "security zone" to act as spies [LBN13757]

A representative of Middle East Watch reports that Hezbollah is not represented in the "security zone" and therefore has no mechanism to pressure residents of the "security zone" to provide intelligence (7 Apr. 1993). The South Lebanon Army (SLA) runs the everyday affairs of the "security zone" and forcibly recruits men residing there into their ranks (Ibid.). For further information on the activities of the SLA in the "security zone," please refer to the attached letter from Middle East Watch.

A representative of the Middle East Institute in Washington, D.C., corroborated the above information and added that there is evidence that the SLA forces residents of the "security zone" to act as spies (7 Apr. 1993). He stated that Hezbollah is not in a position to force "security zone" residents to act as spies without risking a loss in support.

Additional and/or corroborating information on the requested topic could not be found among the sources currently available to the DIRB.

References

Middle East Institute, Washington, D.C. 7 April 1993. Telephone Interview with Representative.

Middle East Watch, New York. 7 April 1993. Telephone Interview with Representative.

Attachment

Middle East Watch, New York. 3 March 1993. Letter.