The Lebanese army has sent reinforcements to the northeastern border with Syria after fighting intensified between Syrian security forces and Military Operations Command with Lebanese clans.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa held telephone talks on Saturday to help restore calm.
The clashes had erupted on Thursday after the Syrian forces carried out a sweep of the Syrian villages in the Homs countryside and Qusayr countryside bordering Lebanon to crack down on Lebanese smugglers and the drug trade.
Clashes then ensued with clans in the region. The army has since intervened to restore calm. The Jaafar clan in Lebanon is the dominant one in those regions.
The Syrian forces have taken control of the majority of the border villages, which are mostly Syrian and home to families that are related to the Lebanese clans.
On Friday, the clans issued a statement calling on the Syrian authorities to prevent Syrian smugglers from burning down the houses of the Lebanese residents of those areas.
After a calm, the clashes erupted again on Saturday. Dozens of people have been killed and injured.
Informed sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that contacts are taking place at the highest levels to restore calm.
Military sources said a ceasefire doesn’t seem imminent, reflecting a determination to cleanse the border areas of the smugglers.
The clashes had eased because of the poor weather, but intensified during the day on Sunday.
The army said it responded “with the appropriate fire” to cross border shelling from Syria towards Lebanon.
In a statement, it said it was taking the “necessary extraordinary measures along these border areas.” It also deployed patrols and set up checkpoints.
The military had previously received orders from Aoun to respond to fire from Syria.
Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported that a rocket had fallen near the town of al-Kwakh and a shell had struck a public school in the area.
Fierce fighting was also reported between clans from Lebanon’s Bekaa and members of the Syrian security forces. Medium weapons and rockets were used in the clashes.
Clashes were reported on Sunday afternoon across the border regions of Saqia Joussiye all the way to the outskirts of Hermel.
Mayors from Hermel called on the Lebanese state and army to “perform their duties in defending the nation, its border and people.”
They said the border regions in Hermel were coming under daily attacks from Syria and that several people have been killed and wounded.
As of Sunday afternoon, over 50 rockets attacks from Qusayr towards Lebanon have been reported, local sources told Asharq Al-Awsat.
A source from the clans told Asharq Al-Awsat that the latter were not abiding by the army orders.
