BEIRUT — Overnight skirmishes erupted on the Lebanese border, according to Syria’s state-run media. This flare-up followed accusations from Syria’s interim government that militants from Lebanon’s Hezbollah had crossed into Syria on Saturday, abducted three soldiers, and killed them on Lebanese territory.
The Syrian state media, citing a defense ministry source, reported that the Syrian military had launched artillery strikes on “Hezbollah gatherings” in retaliation near the border where Syrian soldiers were previously killed. In response, Hezbollah issued a statement on Sunday refuting these allegations.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, five additional Syrian troops were killed during skirmishes on Monday. Footage widely disseminated online and through local media depicted families evacuating amidst the bombardment, heading toward the Syrian village of Hermel.
Recently, tension has escalated between the Syrian forces and armed Lebanese Shiite clans, who are staunch allies of the ousted Syrian government led by Bashar Assad, positioned near Lebanon’s Al-Qasr border village. Reports from Lebanese media and the observatory suggest these clans played a role in the initial kidnapping incident that triggered the latest conflict. These hostilities largely subsided before dawn.
Lebanon has been actively seeking global assistance to enhance its military funding amid its gradual troop deployment across its borders with Syria and Israel in a bid to tighten security. Coordination has been initiated between the Lebanese and Syrian armies to deescalate the situation. Lebanon’s military confirmed the return of the fallen Syrian soldiers’ bodies and noted significant troop deployment in the region.
A skirmish resurfaced at daybreak when a Syrian army vehicle was attacked, though details on casualties remain unclear. Earlier in the day, four Syrian journalists associated with the Syrian military sustained minor injuries from an artillery shell originating from the Lebanese border side. They attributed the attack to Hezbollah.
Additionally, senior Hezbollah legislator Hussein Haj Hassan, during an interview with Lebanon’s Al Jadeed television, accused combatants from the Syrian side of breaching Lebanese territory and launching assaults on border villages. His constituency, the northeastern Baalbek-Hermel province, has been heavily impacted by the ongoing clashes.
