A Hezbollah position in Syria. (Credit: Louai Beshara/AFP)
Since the launch by the new Syrian government of an operation against militias loyal to Bashar al-Assad in western Syria, the border area between Lebanon and Syria has been the scene of a series of clashes and incidents pitting these loyalist armed groups, including Hezbollah, against the security forces of the new government in Damascus.
The operation was first launched in the coastal province of Tartous, a stronghold of the Alawite minority from which the president, who was ousted on Dec. 8, comes. But since Thursday evening, these fights have concentrated around the Syrian town of Tal Kalakh, in the province of Homs, located less than five km from the border with Lebanon – and besieged by fighters from Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) to dislodge the pro-Assad factions – mostly composed of Alawite fighters – who have entrenched themselves there. According to several sources, a warlord named Shoujaa al-Ali, a shabiha leader (who acted on behalf of the former Assad government) known to be close to Hezbollah and accused of war crimes for having committed multiple abuses and kidnappings in the service of Assad was killed during these fights.
Former Jihadist hideout
Some districts of Tal Kalakh, a mixed town shared between Sunni and Alawite communities, are still reportedly held by loyalists, supported by members of Hezbollah who have deployed fighters to protect this historic crossing point used by the party to transport weapons.
In early December, before the fall of Assad, an anonymous security source "close to Hezbollah" told AFP that the group had deployed "2,000 men" to the Qoussair region and the mountain range separating Syria from Lebanon, to "defend its positions in the event of an attack by Syrian rebel forces." Other Lebanese sources cited by Reuters claimed, on the contrary, that the party had recently withdrawn all of its forces from Syria, after gradually repatriating them "over the last two years."
The violent clashes spread to the neighboring town of Balqasah, where the loss of life is said to be significant, although no precise figures have been established. Among the victims is Salem Janbaz, alias Abu Louay, a revolutionary commander from Homs.
The current fighting is reviving the conflict that marked the Syrian civil war, in which Hezbollah became involved in 2013, largely to preserve its strategic interests in Syria and its road link with Tehran, which is vital for its arms supply.
Skirmishes near Masnaa, Israeli raids in the Bekaa
Other reports say ongoing tensions at other points on the Lebanese-Syrian border, including Jdeidet Yabous, near the Masnaa border crossing on the Syrian side. Several security sources told local media that the villages of Jdeidet Yabous and Kafir Yabous, inhabited by Lebanese people close to Hezbollah, were the scene of exchanges of fire "with light and medium weapons" between Hezbollah elements and those close to HTS.
Meanwhile, the Israeli army carried out a series of morning strikes on Friday in the Bekaa, claiming to have targeted "infrastructure linked to Hezbollah's arms trafficking." These air raids targeted the heights of Qoussaya, in Anti-Lebanon, as well as the Majdel Anjar landfill, in the Bekaa, according to information from L'Orient-Le Jour correspondent.
Despite the cease-fire in Lebanon, which came into effect on Nov. 27, Israel continues to regularly bomb the border with Syria, to cut off Hezbollah's arms supply routes from Iran and through Syria. However, this supply has been seriously disrupted by the fall of Assad in Damascus, which was an ally of the party, and the seizure of power by a coalition led by Islamists. Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem acknowledged in mid-December that these developments had cut off the party-militia's transfers, but said that "alternatives" could be found.
