View of Syria from a house in Qanafez in Hermel, Feb. 13, 2025. (Credit: Matthieu Karam/L’Orient-Le Jour)
Defense Minister Michel Menassa will travel to Damascus on Wednesday to discuss recent tensions at the border between the two countries, a Lebanese official who requested anonymity told AFP on Monday.
“The defense minister will lead a security delegation to Damascus to meet with his counterpart Mourhaf Abou Qasra,” the source specified. This is the first Lebanese official to visit Syria since a government was formed in Lebanon in February, while a coalition led by Islamists took power in Damascus in December.
The visit aims to “discuss ways to control the border situation, enhance bilateral coordination, and prevent aggressions from both sides,” the same source added.
Ahead of the visit, Menassa received newly appointed Lebanese Army Commander-in-Chief General Rodolphe Haykal in his office in Yarzeh to discuss the missions carried out by the army to maintain security and stability in all Lebanese regions, particularly on the southern and northeastern borders.
In mid-March, clashes erupted in the border area between the two countries, in eastern Lebanon, resulting in ten deaths. Damascus accused Hezbollah, a former ally of ousted President Bashar al-Assad, of kidnapping three Syrian soldiers and killing them, which the party denied. Seven Lebanese were later killed in shelling from Syria, according to authorities.
A Lebanese security source told AFP that Syrian forces bombed the border area in Lebanon after the three Syrian soldiers were killed by armed Lebanese involved in smuggling. The two countries later announced they had reached a cease-fire.
Lebanon shares a 330-kilometer border with Syria with no official demarcation in several areas, making it porous and conducive to smuggling. The new Syrian authorities announced at the beginning of February the launch of a security operation in the Homs border region to “close smuggling routes for arms and goods.” Hezbollah, which fought alongside Assad's troops during the conflict in Syria, exerted its influence over large portions of the Lebanese-Syrian border. It has been weakened by the recent war with Israel.