Suleiman issued the orders in a meeting with members of his command and commanders of major units at his office in Suburban Yarze, east of Beirut, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.

Suleiman urged his commanders to "achieve high combat readiness of their units to confront all expected probabilities, especially defending the southern land, maintain domestic security and stability," the report said.

He noted that the troops' "basic duty is to prevent the Israeli enemy from occupying Lebanese territories or attempting to use them as a passage to launch an aggression against Arab brotherly countries."

Suleiman reiterated "the army's determination, backed by the people and the resistance, to confront any new Israeli aggression with all available means and capabilities. Defending the land is a sacred right consolidated by international charters, it is a national priority that deserves unifying resources and efforts."

The army commander stressed that his troops would not fall back "if the enemy decided to occupy the south, because abandoning this territory means abandoning the whole of Lebanon."

Suleiman was nominated by the ruling majority for election as the new president , but the Iranian an Syrian backed Hezbollah-led opposition has refused so far to cooperate.

Lebanon has been without a president for over 3 months and rival politicians have not been able to agree on an election date . The date is now set for March 11, which is the 15th postponement . The Arab League chief has been mediating a solution to the Lebanon crisis but so far he has failed.