NICOSIA Ñ Lebanon has detained scores of opponents to the Syrian occupation of that country.

Opposition sources said Lebanese military and police units have arrested 250 Christian opponents of Damascus. Those detained -- most of them university students -- were suspected members of the banned Lebanese Front as well as supporters of exiled Lebanese President Michel Aoun.

The arrests took place on Tuesday night and Wednesday. Lebanese military intelligence units conducted the majority of the detentions and many of them were prosecuted overnight Thursday, the sources said.

The detainees included such prominent figures as Aoun aide Tawfiq Hindi and Lebanese Front commander Nadim Latif. Opposition sources said the arrests came after Christian opponents staged protests of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon.

The protests took place during a tour of southern Lebanon over the weekend by Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir. The Christians shouted anti-Syrian slogans and clashed with Lebanese security forces.

About 30,000 Syrian troops are said to be deployed in Lebanon. On Wednesday, families of the detained staged a protest of the arrests.

Lebanese officials confirmed the arrests. A military statement warned against subversive activities against the government in Beirut.

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