Illustrative image. (The Syrian Arab News Agency)
Another round of clashes broke out on the Syrian-Lebanese border late on April 24, with both sides exchanging accusations.
Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that eight Syrian refugees were wounded and taken to the hospital in the northeastern province of Baalbek-Hermel after an “explosives-laden drone blew up” in the town of Hawsh al-Sayyed Ali right on the border with Syria.
The Lebanese military sent reinforcements “after gunfire was heard” in the border town, the news agency added, without elaborating.
From its side, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency, citing an unnamed defense ministry source, said that Lebanon’s Hezbollah had launched artillery shells at Syrian military positions in the town of Qusayr in the central province of Homs, near the Lebanese border.
“Our forces immediately targeted the sources of the fire,” the statement said.
“We are in contact with the Lebanese military to evaluate the incident and stopped targeting the sources of fire” at the Lebanese military’s request, it added.
This was the third round of clashes to break out on the Syrian-Lebanese border since the fall of the regime of president Bashar al-Assad last December, with Syria’s new Islamist-led interim government accusing Hezbollah of border violations and the group denying.
Following the previous round of clashes, which broke out last March and left at least ten dead, Lebanon and Syria’s defense ministers signed an agreement to address border security threats. Nevertheless, coordination between the two sides remains on a low level.
Tensions on the Syrian-Lebanese border, which are loosely controlled from both sides, will not likely ease any time soon. The situation there could develop into a full-on conflict in the future, especially that control over some border towns, like Hawsh al-Sayyed Ali, is disputed.
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