Gunfire and explosions were heard on Thursday night in several villages in the Bekaa and Hermel regions, near the Anti-Lebanon mountain range, reports our correspondent in the region, Sarah Abdallah. The shots appeared to have come from neighboring Syrian territories, where clashes between the new security forces and militias loyal to the former Assad regime have killed dozens since yesterday.

The gunfire was heard in Anjar and Kfar Zabad, as well as further north in the vicinity of Mashrefa, Qasr and Hoah al-Sayyed Ali. According to information gathered by our correspondent, local militias fired into the air to repel any attempt by armed groups to infiltrate Lebanese territory.

On Thursday evening, violent clashes pitted pro-Bashar al-Assad fighters against security forces in the northwest of the country. According to the U.K.-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which has an extensive network of sources in Syria, more than 70 people were killed in the clashes. The fighting in the town of Jableh and surrounding villages on the Mediterranean coast represents, according to the SOHR, the “most violent attacks against the new authorities since the fall of Assad” last December. Restoring security throughout the country is the most urgent challenge facing the new authorities, who have been in power since a coalition of rebel groups led by Islamists toppled Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8.

The border regions with Syria, particularly in Hermel, are also inhabited by Lebanese Shiite “clans,” who clashed with the new Syrian security forces for several days in February.