Syrian Soldiers Killed in Lebanon Border Violence, Hezbollah Rejects Blame
Fighting erupted along the Lebanon-Syria border overnight into Monday, following accusations that Hezbollah fighters crossed into Syria, kidnapped three Syrian soldiers, and killed them on Lebanese soil. Syria’s interim government blamed the Iran-backed group for the incident, though Hezbollah denied any involvement.
According to Syria’s state media, the Syrian army responded by shelling Hezbollah positions near the border. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that at least five additional Syrian soldiers were killed during the clashes. Videos circulating online showed families fleeing toward the Syrian village of Hermel as artillery fire intensified.
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Recent violence in the border region has pitted Syrian troops against armed Lebanese Shiite clans who have strong ties to Bashar Assad’s ousted government. These groups, based in Lebanon’s Al-Qasr border village, were allegedly involved in the initial kidnapping that sparked the conflict. The fighting subsided before dawn, but low-level skirmishes continued, with reports of an attack on a Syrian military vehicle.
Both Lebanese and Syrian armies have opened communication channels to ease tensions. Lebanon’s military stated it had returned the bodies of the three slain Syrian soldiers and deployed additional troops to the border.
Meanwhile, four Syrian journalists embedded with Syrian forces were wounded by an artillery shell fired from Lebanon. They accused Hezbollah of targeting them. In response, senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hussein Haj Hassan alleged that fighters from Syria had attacked Lebanese villages in his Baalbek-Hermel province, where much of the violence has taken place.
