Lebanon–Syria border clashes

The Lebanese–Syrian border clashes were a series of clashes on the Lebanon–Syria border caused by the ongoing Syrian Civil War.

Further information: Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon and Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian Civil War
Lebanese–Syrian border clashes
Part of the Syrian civil war spillover in Lebanon
Date1 June 2012 – 28 August 2017
(5 years, 2 months, 3 weeks and 6 days)
Location
Lebanon–Syria border
Status

Decisive Lebanese Army victory on the Lebanese side and Hezbollah and Syrian Army victory on the Syrian side

  • Lebanese and Syrian governments fully recapture the Lebanon–Syria border[1]
Belligerents

Free Syrian Army[2]

Jaysh al-Islam[4]
Ahrar al-Sham

Al-Qaeda affiliates

 Islamic State (2013–17)

 Lebanon

Syrian Arab Republic

Hezbollah
Commanders and leaders
Michel Sleiman (2012–14)
Tammam Salam (2014–16)
Jean Kahwaji (2012–17)
a The al-Nusra Front closely cooperated with ISIL between 2013 and 2014, were considered "frenemies" in 2015,[13] and became embroiled in open conflict with it in 2017.[14]

Timeline

2012

At the beginning of the summer 2012, two Hezbollah fighters were killed in a clash with Syrian rebels who were on Lebanese territory.[15]

On 17 September, Syrian Ground-attack aircraft fired three missiles 500 metres (1,600 ft) over the border into Lebanese territory near Arsal. It was suggested that the jets were chasing rebels in the vicinity. The attack prompted Lebanese president Michel Sleiman to launch an investigation, whilst not publicly blaming Syria for the incident.[16]

On 22 September, a group of armed members of the Free Syrian Army attacked a border post near Arsal. This was reported to be the second incursion within a week. The group were chased off into the hills by the Lebanese Army, who detained and later released some rebels due to pressure from dignified locals. Michel Sleiman praised the actions taken by the military as maintaining Lebanon's position being "neutral from the conflicts of others". He called on border residents to "stand beside their army and assist its members." Syria has repeatedly called for an intensified crackdown on rebels that it claims are hiding in Lebanese border towns.[17][18]

On 11 October 2012, four shells fired by the Syrian military hit Masharih al-Qaa, where previous shelling incidents have caused fatalities. Lebanon's position of ignoring the attacks and dissociating itself from the conflict remained unchanged.

On 30 November 2012, between 14 and 20 Islamists from North Lebanon, as well a Palestinian, were killed in an ambush in Tall Kalakh near the Lebanese border. They had gone to Syria to fight alongside the Syrian rebels.[19]

2013

On 1 February 2013, two Lebanese soldiers were killed, along with 1-2 militants, and six were wounded in clashes near the Syrian border which started after an attempt by the military to arrest an anti-Assad rebel commander, who was also killed.[20][21][22]

Three Lebanese soldiers were killed in an attack on their checkpoint near the border town of Arsal by unknown militants who than fled over the border into Syria.[23]

In the night of 2 June 2013, heavy clashes between Syrian rebels and Hezbollah took place near the Lebanese town of Ain el-Jaouze, which is close to the border area between Lebanon and Syria. The rebels were ether members of the radical Al-Nusra Front or of the Free Syrian Army. Hezbollah fighters attacked a rebel rocket team which was reportedly preparing to fire rockets into Shi'ite areas of the Lebanese Beqaa Valley. 14–17 rebels and one Hezbollah fighter were killed. The rebels said the attack was in retaliation for Hezbollah's support for the Syrian Army at the battle of al-Qusayr.[24][25][26][27]

On 6 June 2013, unknown gunmen attacked a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Arsal, near the border. In the ensuing gunfight two of the gunmen were killed. The Army captured a pick-up truck that contained weapons and ammunition. After examining the bodies, it was determined that at least one of the dead gunmen was a Syrian national. The nationality of the other dead man was not stated.[28]

2014
See also: Qalamoun offensive (June 2014–present)

On June 14, 2014, the Syrian Army and Hezbollah fighters bombed the village of Tfeil in the Bekka valley causing much damage to people and property.[29]

On 14 July, Hezbollah fighters launched an attack on Syrian rebels holding out on the border with Lebanon between Qalamoun and Arsal, killing three rebels and wounding ten. The clashes left one fighter from Hezbollah dead and twelve others wounded.[30] The fighting moved into Lebanon outside the town of Nahleh, with fighting killing an additional seven Hezbollah fighters and 32 rebels.

On 16 July, Al Nusra Front ambushed Hezbollah fighters attempting to enter Al Qalamoun from Lebanon, leaving three of them dead. By this time, it was estimated that 26 Al Nusra Front fighters had been killed.[31]

On 17 July, fierce clashes broke out between Hezbollah fighters and Al Nusra Front fighters on the outskirts of the Lebanese town of Arsal and Al-Fakiha. Hezbollah reportedly captured seven Al Nusra Front fighters.[32] The fighting continued into the next day, with Syrian jets and Hezbollah bombarding rebel positions stretching from Arsal to Nanleh. Arsal residents were apparently being coerced into allowing fighters to rest there, and many civilians from Lebanese border villages had been kidnapped.[33]

Main article: Battle of Arsal

On 2 August, Al Nusra Front leader Emad Jumaa was detained by Lebanese authorities at a checkpoint near Arsal. Al Nusra Front fighters, still reeling from an ambush orchestrated by pro-Syrian forces across the border, promptly surrounded Lebanese army checkpoints around the town and demanded his release.[34] The army refused, and Al Nusra Front, backed by fighters from the Islamic State, stormed Arsal and captured the police station. Clashes broke out in and around the town between the militants and the Lebanese army, leaving 11 militants and 7 soldiers dead. The Lebanese army began to shell the town throughout the night, as Al Nusra Front detained 16 members of the local security forces.[35]

From the second to the fifth fierce battles raged, lasting until the Jihadi army withdrew back into Syria on the fifth, capturing dozens of hostages, which were later used as bargaining chips.[36] Desperate battles between Al Nusra Front and Hezbollah fighters took place on the Syrian side of the border, spilling over into the Arsal area again on 21 August.[37]

On August 26, Syrian bombers targeted[38] suspected rebel outposts on the Lebanese side of the border, beginning an offensive that inadvertently involved Lebanese troops,[39] threatening to turn the Bekka valley into major battlefield of a regional war.

On 16 September, Al-Nusra Front fighters crossed into Lebanon after clashing with the Syrian army. The Lebanese army repelled them, killing and wounding an unverified number.[40]

On 19 September, two Lebanese soldiers were killed and three were wounded when a bomb exploded as their convoy was headed towards the outskirts of Arsal.[41]

On 2 December, six Lebanese soldiers were killed and one wounded in an ambush by unknown gunmen in the Tal Hamra area of Ras Baalbek, near the border with Syria.[42]

2015

On 23 January, eight soldiers were killed and 22 wounded near Ras Baalbek after their outpost near the border was attacked by Al Nusra. The fighting also left more than 40 militants dead.[43]

See also

References
  1. "Islamic State prepares to evacuate Syria-Lebanon border zone". Reuters. 28 August 2017.
  2. "FSA 'Arsal Commander' Shot Dead in Town's Square". Naharnet. 14 August 2015.
  3. "Last rebel faction leaves mountains on Syrian-Lebanese border alongside displaced". Syria Direct. 14 August 2017.
  4. "Jaish al-Islam confronts Islamic State in Arsal". Al-Monitor. 5 February 2015.
  5. Jesse Marks (10 August 2017). "Preventing Forced Return in Lebanon and the Greater Levant". The Stimson Center.
  6. "Syria Islamist factions, including former al Qaeda branch, join forces - statement". Thomson Reuters Foundation. 28 January 2017. Retrieved 1 February 2017.
  7. Abu Amer, Adnan (4 September 2015). "Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon becomes battlefield for Fatah-Islamist conflict". Al-Monitor.
  8. Masi, Alessandria (12 April 2016). "Palestinian Fatah Leader Killed In Lebanon Refugee Camp Bomb". International Business Times.
  9. Wood, Josh (4 April 2012). "Syria War Triggers Rifts in Palestinian Camps in Lebanon". New York Times.
  10. "Lebanon arrests top al-Qaeda linked fighter". Al-Jazeera. 12 February 2014.
  11. Abu Amer, Adnan (15 June 2015). "Hamas working to lower tensions in Lebanese camps". Al-Monitor.
  12. ""Sunni Resistance Committees in Lebanon" Releases Video on Arsal Attack". SITE Intelligence Group. 16 October 2015.
  13. Sulome Anderson (21 June 2015). "ISIS Is Trying to Take Over Lebanon. This Christian Village Is on the Front Lines". New York.
  14. "Widening clashes between the front and the victory of the Lebanese organization Daesh Jarod Arsal". Al Mayadeen. 27 May 2017.
  15. "Hezbollah Increases Support for Syrian Regime, U.S. and Lebanese Officials Say (Beirut)". Northjersey.com. 2012-09-26. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
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  17. "(Lebanon), Lebanese president praises Army response to FSA attack, 23 September 2012". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
  18. "Rebeldes sirios atacan un puesto del Ejército en territorio de Líbano, CNN Espanol, Alkhshali Hamdi, Amir Ahmed, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Ben Brumfield and Joe Sterling, 22 September 2012". Cnnespanol.cnn.com. Retrieved 2012-12-25.
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  20. "Arsal ambush kills two Lebanese soldiers hunting wanted fugitive". Dailystar.com.lb. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  21. Soldiers in Lebanon Die in Raid Near Syria
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  34. Yaakov, Yifa (2014-08-02). "Gunmen encircle Lebanon army posts after Syria 'militant' held". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  35. "Syria's Islamist Rebels Battle Troops In Lebanon". Huffingtonpost.com. Reuters. 2014-08-02. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  36. "Militants will free captives if Hezbollah pulls out of Syria | News, Lebanon News". The Daily Star. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
  37. "Seven Hezbollah fighters dead after clash on Syria border | News, Lebanon News". The Daily Star. 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
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  39. "Lebanese Army: One missing after soldiers ambushed in Arsal". The Daily Star Newspaper - Lebanon. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
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  41. "Bomb attack kills 2 troops on Syria border: Lebanon army". Yahoo News. 19 September 2014. Retrieved 29 October 2014.
  42. Lebanese troops killed near Syrian border
  43. 8 soldiers dead, 22 wounded as Lebanon border battle ends
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