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The Lebanese military said on February 8 that it had ordered troops deployed along the border with Syria to retaliate against fire from the Syrian side.
Clashes broke out along the border between the Lebanese governorate of Baalbek-Hermel and the Syrian governorate of Homs two days earlier when Syrian government forces -mainly made of fighters from the now dissolved Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham- launched an operation to close smuggling routes allegedly run by the Shiite clans of Zoaiter and Jaafar, which are linked to Hezbollah.
The two clans are said to be involved in the smuggling of weapons to Hezbollah, as well as in the trafficking of drugs and other goods across the Lebanese-Syrian border.
In the first 48 hours of the confrontation, Syrian government forces imposed control of much of the border, including the key towns of Hawik and al-Qasr. Three Lebanese and Syrian were killed. However, clashes continued on the third day, mainly close to the crossing of Matraba.
Syrian government forces used heavy weapons, including multiple rocket launchers, main battle tanks and anti-tank guided missiles. Multiple suicide drones launched from Syria were also shot down by Lebanese fighters, who showed fierce resistance.
In a statement, the Lebanese military said that it had acted on directives from Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, ordering military units along the northern and eastern borders to respond to sources of fire coming from Syrian territory and targeting Lebanese areas.
The statement added that units had begun responding with “appropriate weapons” following recent clashes that saw several Lebanese areas shelled and fired upon.
On February 7, Aoun called interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa and discussed “controlling the situation on the Lebanese-Syrian border and preventing the targeting of civilians.”
Municipalities in the Hermel district had issued a statement calling on the Lebanese state to intervene to protect civilians following repeated attacks on Lebanese villages from Syria. They said the Lebanese military must take full responsibility amid the ongoing tension and work to put an end to these hostile acts.
Following the army’s statement, several Lebanese strikes reportedly hit Syrian government forces. Lebanese drones were also observed over the border.
Lebanon’s National News Agency reported an expanded military deployment to new positions on the outskirts of Hermel, near the Syrian border. It said an army observation tower was reportedly hit by an artillery shell from Syria, causing only material damage.
The state-run news agency also reported that the Lebanese Red Cross had transported eight people to hospitals in Hermel after they were injured in shelling in the northern border region. It said shelling from Syria struck the towns of Zakiyah, Ard al-Sabea, Sahlat al-Maa, and Qanafez, injuring civilians.
While the border clashes remain limited in scale, the situation could get out of hand at any moment. So far, Hezbollah have stayed out of the confrontation, likely to focus on the implementation of the ceasefire agreement with Israel which should end by February 18. The group could intervene later, if the issue of the border was not resolved.
Maintaining control over this part of the border with Syria is critical for Hezbollah, which lost all of its supply routes from Syria with the fall of the Assad regime last December.
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