The Lebanese Army confirmed on Monday evening that it had retaliated against sources of fire from Syria after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had given orders to this effect. The shots fired from Syria killed one child and wounded six others, according to the authorities, the day after three members of the Syrian security forces were killed.

“The area of Hosh al-Sayyed Ali [Hermel] was the target of intensive shelling from the Syrian side," the Lebanese Army said. Military units have responded to the sources of fire with appropriate weapons and are working to strengthen their defensive position in order to stop attacks against Lebanese territory.” “Contacts are continuing between the Lebanese Army command and the Syrian authorities in order to restore calm and bring the situation in the border area under control,” the army added.

The military source contacted by L'Orient-Le Jour early Monday evening confirmed that the Lebanese Army and Syrian groups clashed violently with heavy artillery near Hosh al-Sayyed Ali, a border locality in the Hermel region.

In the early evening, our correspondent reported that the clashes at the border injured some residents of the Lebanese localities of Mashrafeh and Hosh al-Sayyed Ali. Many residents of Hosh al-Sayyed Ali had to flee. Hosh al-Sayyed Ali is a border locality between Lebanon and Syria. A large part of the locality is on Syrian territory and is considered almost abandoned due to its low population. While the Syrian army has entered the Syrian territory of Hosh al-Sayyed Ali, the Lebanese Army is positioned on the Lebanese side of the locality, alongside clans also located in the Lebanese part, as specified by our correspondent.

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun had ordered the Lebanese Army to respond to the sources of fire on the Lebanese-Syrian border. "What is happening on the eastern and northeastern borders can no longer continue, and we will not tolerate it," said Aoun. "I have given instructions to the Lebanese Army to respond to the sources of fire." The Lebanese Army announced that it had implemented "exceptional security measures and conducted intensive contacts" since Sunday evening, which allowed the return of the bodies of the three Syrian security forces members to their country's authorities. It stated that Lebanese border localities had been "bombed from the Syrian side." Permanent contacts are ongoing between "the army command and the Syrian authorities to maintain order," it added.

Aoun also contacted Foreign Minister Joe Rajji, currently in Brussels, and asked him to get in touch with the Syrian delegation present at the annual donors' conference "to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, while ensuring the sovereignty of both states and preventing a deterioration of the situation," reported the Lebanese presidency.

Hezbollah denies any responsibility

Fighting broke out late Sunday in the border region in eastern Lebanon. New Syrian authorities accused Hezbollah of kidnapping and executing three Syrian soldiers after taking them to Lebanon, which the party "formally denied." "Tensions began after three members of the Syrian General Security entered Lebanese territory in the village of Qasr, where they were shot by local armed men linked to a family involved in smuggling," said a Lebanese security source to AFP.

Commenting on the clashes on the Lebanese-Syrian border, Hezbollah MP Hussein Hajj Hassan denied "any responsibility" by his party, in a statement to the Russian news agency Sputnik. He stated that "these events are the result of attacks carried out by armed men against Lebanese citizens" and emphasized "the necessity for the Lebanese state to defend these citizens, exposed to bombings and killings." "The residents of northeastern border villages are only defending themselves, and these attacks must stop as soon as possible," he added.

Our correspondent in the Bekaa, Sarah Abdallah, also reported on Monday that the artillery of the Syrian army targeted the locality of Mashrafeh, adjacent to the region of Qoussair, east of the city of Hermel, bombing all the houses in the village. The intensity of the clashes is increasing near the border locality of al-Qasr.

Furthermore, two shells launched from the Qousseir region in Syria landed near al-Qasr (Baalbek-Hermel), and then a rocket shot, this time from Lebanon, injured a journalist and a photographer near the Zaita checkpoint (Homs countryside), according to the official Syrian news agency Sana. Commenting on these shootings, the Syrian Information Ministry denounced a "targeting" of journalists and called on the Lebanese state to hold the attackers accountable, also mentioning Hezbollah's involvement. The Syrian army has also deployed along the border with Lebanon after sending military reinforcements, reports the channel Al-Arabiya.

The new Syrian authorities announced in February the launch of a security campaign in the Homs province, bordering Lebanon, aimed at closing smuggling routes with that country. They accused Hezbollah, an ally of deposed President Bashar al-Assad, of launching attacks and supporting smuggling groups.