April 29, 2010 - The Daily Star - Lebanon Remains of Syrian soldiers returned home

BEIRUT: Lebanon on Wednesday handed over to Syrian authorities the remains of two soldiers killed in clashes with Israel at the height of Lebanon’s 1975-90 Civil War, the army said.
“The Lebanese Army has conducted an official transfer ceremony for the remains of Syrian soldiers Bader Nuras Kanjo and Ibrahim Hammoud Teeni who were martyred in the eastern Bekaa Valley in 1982 during clashes with the Israeli enemy,” a statement said.
The remains were found last week by a farmer in the eastern town of Mdoukha.
Israel for its part has offered a reward for information on soldiers who went missing during the Lebanese Civil War, including three who disappeared in the 1982 “Sultan Yaacoub” battles with Syria.
The Civil War erupted on April 13, 1975, pitting leftist and Palestinian factions against Christian militias.
The fighting quickly escalated into a free-for-all sectarian bloodbath, killing more than 150,000 people and ushering in Syrian and Israeli troops.
Israel withdrew its troops from southern Lebanon in 2000 after a 22-year occupation.
Syria withdrew its troops under international pressure in April 2005 in the wake of the assassination of former Premier Rafik Hariri, ending 29 years of military presence in its smaller southern neighbor. – AFP