Syria’s defense ministry said border guard forces in the outskirts of Flita area west of Damascus had foiled an attempt to smuggle weapons across the Syrian-Lebanese border after what it described as a tightly executed ambush.
The ministry’s media and communications office said the operation led to the arrest of four people, including two Lebanese nationals, and the seizure of a quantity of weapons and ammunition.
It said the suspects had been referred to the relevant authorities for legal action.
The operation came amid growing tension and anxiety along the Syrian-Lebanese frontier after the Syrian army reinforced its deployment on the border with Lebanon, reviving memories of the Syrian military’s intervention in Lebanon in the 1970s.
Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji said in a post on X that, on the sidelines of an emergency consultative meeting held in Riyadh, he had a brief conversation with his Syrian counterpart Asaad al-Shibani, who told him the deployment of Syrian forces on the border with Lebanon was aimed solely at protecting Syrian territory and securing the frontier against any security breach or smuggling activity.
Shibani stressed that Syria did not intend to enter Lebanon or interfere in its internal affairs in any way.
Syria’s border guard forces continue to work to secure the frontier and combat armed groups, drug and weapons smuggling, and other illegal activities that exploit security conditions in some border areas. They are also working to regulate movement along the border and monitor any activity that poses a security threat.
Earlier this month, the Rif Dimashq Media Directorate announced the seizure of a shipment of weapons prepared for smuggling across the Syrian-Lebanese border.
It said the shipment was found in the Nabek area of the Qalamoun region in the Damascus countryside and that the operation was part of efforts to combat organized crime and crack down on smuggling.
The Internal Security Directorate in the Zabadani area of Rif Dimashq also said it had foiled an attempt on Dec. 17 to smuggle a shipment of weapons into Lebanon.
