Lebanese Army vehicles enter the town of Shamaa in southern Lebanon. (Credit: X/@Lebarmy)
BEIRUT — At four Lebanese soldier was injured on Friday in clashes between an army unit and Syrian militants in the area of Maaraboun on the Lebanese-Syrian border, according to the Lebanese Army and our correspondent in the Bekaa.
"On Friday, while an army unit was working to close an illegal crossing on the Lebanese-Syrian border in the area of Maaraboun-Baalbek, Syrian individuals attempted to open the crossing with a bulldozer, whereupon army personnel fired warning shots in the air and the Syrians opened fire towards army personnel, injuring one of them and resulting in a clash between the two sides. Army units deployed in the sector took strict military measures and are following up on the incident," the army said in a statement published on X.
According to sources contacted by our correspondent, the clashes ceased mid-afternoon before resuming shortly afterward.
In the early evening, the Lebanese Army confirmed on X that clashes had resumed, "after armed individuals from the Syrian side targeted a military unit with a medium-caliber weapon."
The army reported "four soldiers moderately wounded."
Later in the evening, a security source later told our correspondent that the Lebanese Army had shelled positions held by armed individuals on the Syrian side of the border using mortars. The army also destroyed a vehicle mounted with six machine guns, resulting in casualties among those inside.
Since the ousting of the former Syrian regime on Dec. 8, the border on the Syrian side has been under the administration of the new leadership headed by Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham.
