ARABS-ISRAEL - May 12 - Militia Shuts 2nd Post.

An SLA source and the Israeli army say Israeli's South Lebanon Army closed its 2nd post this week in occupied south Lebanon. The SLA gives no reason for closing Tallouseh post in the central sector of Israel's deep occupation zone in south Lebanon but sources say the militia was probably trying to thwart guerrilla attacks. A militia source says: "The position is close to a valley that is usually used by the guerrillas to launch attacks". The Israeli army confirms the closure in a statement released in Jerusalem, saying it took place in co-ordination between the Israeli army and the SLA leader Antoine Lahd. It says: "SLA soldiers dismantled outpost 627 in the central sector in the security zone in south Lebanon. It was a decision by General Lahd which was co-ordinated with the IDF based on operational judgements of the SLA. The soldiers have moved to another outpost in the same sector". On May 8, the SLA closed Shayyar Azour post in the eastern sector of the edge of the zone. It also formally abandoned the nearby Aramta post, which had been destroyed by Hizbollah guerrillas in April. An SLA statement issued this week said its troops were re-deploying in the south ahead of Israel's planned pullout from the area. (Israel has said it will end its 22-year occupation of south Lebanon by July but the fate of the SLA remains unclear. Lebanon has said the SLA should either surrender or leave while Lahd said he would keep a zone in the south and that he was not pulling out with the Israelis. There are about 30 SLA posts and 10 Israeli ones in the occupied strip.)