Lebanese–Syrian border clashes

Lebanese–Syrian border clashes
Part of the Syrian civil war spillover in Lebanon
Date 1 June 2012 – present (4 years, 6 months and 4 days) Location Syrian-Lebanese border Status Ongoing
Belligerents
Free Syrian Army Islamic Front (until 2015)	Hezbollah	Lebanon LAF ISF	al-Nusra Front (until 2016) Jabhat Fateh al-Sham (from 2016) ISIL (from 2014)
Commanders and leaders
		Michel Sleiman (2012-2014) Tammam Salam (2014-present) Jean Kahwaji (2012-present)

Lebanese–Syrian border clashes are violent incidents to have taken place on the border of Syria and Lebanon during the Syrian civil war.

Timeline

2012

At the beginning of the summer 2012, two Hezbollah fighters were killed in a clash with Syrian rebels who were on Lebanese territory.^[1]

On 17 September, Syrian Ground-attack aircraft fired three missiles 500 metres (1,600 ft) over the border into Lebanese territory near Arsal. It was suggested that the jets were chasing rebels in the vicinity. The attack prompted Lebanese president Michel Sleiman to launch an investigation, whilst not publicly blaming Syria for the incident.^[2]

On 22 September, a group of armed members of the Free Syrian Army attacked a border post near Arsal. This was reported to be the second incursion within a week. The group were chased off into the hills by the Lebanese Army, who detained and later released some rebels due to pressure from dignified locals. Michel Sleiman praised the actions taken by the military as maintaining Lebanon's position being “neutral from the conflicts of others". He called on border residents to “stand beside their army and assist its members.” Syria has repeatedly called for an intensified crackdown on rebels that it claims are hiding in Lebanese border towns.^[3][4]

On 11 October 2012, four shells fired by the Syrian military hit Masharih al-Qaa, where previous shelling incidents have caused fatalities. Lebanon's position of ignoring the attacks and dissociating itself from the conflict remained unchanged.

On 30 November 2012, between 14 and 20 Islamists from North Lebanon, as well a Palestinian, were killed in an ambush in Tall Kalakh near the Lebanese border. They had gone to Syria to fight alongside the Syrian rebels.^[5]

2013

On 1 February 2013, two Lebanese soldiers were killed, along with 1-2 militants, and six were wounded in clashes near the Syrian border which started after an attempt by the military to arrest an anti-Assad rebel commander, who was also killed.^[6][7][8]

Three Lebanese soldiers were killed in an attack on their checkpoint near the border town of Arsal by unknown militants who than fled over the border into Syria.^[9]

In the night of 2 June 2013, heavy clashes between Syrian rebels and Hezbollah took place near the Lebanese town of Ain el-Jaouze, which is close to the border area between Lebanon and Syria. The rebels were ether members of the radical Al-Nusra Front or of the Free Syrian Army. Hezbollah fighters attacked a rebel rocket team which was reportedly preparing to fire rockets into Shi'ite areas of the Lebanese Beqaa Valley. 14–17 rebels and one Hezbollah fighter were killed. The rebels said the attack was in retaliation for Hezbollah's support for the Syrian Army at the battle of al-Qusayr.^{[10][11][12][13]}

On 6 June 2013, unknown gunmen attacked a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Arsal, near the border. In the ensuing gunfight two of the gunmen were killed. The Army captured a pick-up truck that contained weapons and ammunition. After examining the bodies, it was determined that at least one of the dead gunmen was a Syrian national. The nationality of the other dead man was not stated.^[14]

2014

On June 14, 2014, the Syrian Army and Hezbollah fighters bombed the village of Tfeil in the Bekka valley causing much damage to people and property.^[15]

On 14 July, Hezbollah fighters launched an attack on Syrian rebels holding out on the border with Lebanon between Qalamoun and Arsal, killing three rebels and wounding ten. The clashes left one fighter from Hezbollah dead and twelve others wounded.^[16] The fighting moved into Lebanon outside the town of Nahleh, with fighting killing an additional seven Hezbollah fighters and 32 rebels.

On 16 July, Al Nusra Front ambushed Hezbollah fighters attempting to enter Al Qalamoun from Lebanon, leaving three of them dead. By this time, it was estimated that 26 Al Nusra Front fighters had been killed.^[17]

On 17 July, fierce clashes broke out between Hezbollah fighters and Al Nusra Front fighters on the outskirts of the Lebanese town of Arsal and Al-Fakiha. Hezbollah reportedly captured seven Al Nusra Front fighters.^[18] The fighting continued into the next day, with Syrian jets and Hezbollah bombarding rebel positions stretching from Arsal to Nanleh. Arsal residents were apparently being coerced into allowing fighters to rest there, and many civilians from Lebanese border villages had been kidnapped.^[19]

On 2 August, Al Nusra Front leader Emad Jumaa was detained by Lebanese authorities at a checkpoint near Arsal. Al Nusra Front fighters, still reeling from an ambush orchestrated by pro-Syrian forces across the border, promptly surrounded Lebanese army checkpoints around the town and demanded his release.^[20] The army refused, and Al Nusra Front, backed by fighters from the Islamic State, stormed Arsal and captured the police station. Clashes broke out in and around the town between the militants and the Lebanese army, leaving 11 militants and 7 soldiers dead. The Lebanese army began to shell the town throughout the night, as Al Nusra Front detained 16 members of the local security forces.^[21]

From the second to the fifth fierce battles raged, lasting until the Jihadi army withdrew back into Syria on the fifth, capturing dozens of hostages, which were later used as bargaining chips.^[22] Desperate battles between Al Nusra Front and Hezbollah fighters took place on the Syrian side of the border, spilling over into the Arsal area again on 21 August.^[23]

On August 26, Syria bombers targeted^[24] suspected rebel outposts on the Lebanese side of the border, beginning an offensive that inadvertently involved Lebanese troops,^[25] threatening to turn the Bekka valley into major battlefield of a regional war.

On 16 September, Al-Nusra Front fighters crossed into Lebanon after clashing with the Syrian army. The Lebanese army repelled them, killing and wounding an unverified number.^[26]

On 19 September, two Lebanese soldiers were killed and three were wounded when a bomb exploded as their convoy was headed towards the outskirts of Arsal.^[27]

On 2 December, six Lebanese soldiers were killed and one wounded in an ambush by unknown gunmen in the Tal Hamra area of Ras Baalbek, near the border with Syria.^[28]

2015

On 23 January, eight soldiers were killed and 22 wounded near Ras Baalbek after their outpost near the border was attacked by Al Nusra. The fighting also left more than 40 militants dead.^[29]

See also

• Lebanese civil war

References

Syrian Civil War
Part of the Arab Spring
Background Timeline Background 1963 coup d'état 1966 coup d'état 1970 "Corrective Revolution" 1979–82 Islamic uprising 1999 Latakia protests 2000–01 Damascus Spring 2004 al-Qamishli riots Syrian occupation of Lebanon 2005 Damascus Declaration Human rights in Syria 2011 (Jan–Apr • May–Aug • Sep–Dec) Death of Hamza Ali Al-Khateeb Siege of Daraa Siege of Baniyas Talkalakh siege Siege of Rastan and Talbiseh Jisr ash-Shugur operation Siege of Hama Siege of Homs Jabal al-Zawiya operation Siege of Latakia Deir ez-Zor Clashes Rif Dimashq clashes Battle of Zabadani Battle of Douma Daraa Governorate clashes First Battle of Rastan Shayrat and Tiyas airbase ambush Idlib Governorate clashes Jabal al-Zawiya massacres 2012 (Jan–Apr • May–Aug • Sep–Dec) al-Midan bombing Second Battle of Rastan First Idlib operation First Battle of Idlib First Battle of al-Qusayr Second Idlib operation Battle of Taftanaz Third Battle of Rastan Houla massacre Battle of al-Haffah Al-Qubeir massacre Battle of Tremseh Battle of Damascus Damascus bombing Battle of Aleppo Battle of Anadan Siege of Base 46 First Rif Dimashq offensive Darayya massacre Battle of Khirbet al-Joz Battle of Maarrat al-Nu'man First Siege of Wadi Deif Battle of Harem Second Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Darayya Aqrab massacre First Hama offensive Halfaya massacre Battle of Darayya Quneitra Governorate clashes Talbiseh bakery massacre 2013 (Jan–Apr • May–Dec) Battle of Safira Battle of Shadadeh Damascus offensive Battle of Raqqa Daraa offensive Third Rif Dimashq offensive Battle of Jdaidet al-Fadl Ghouta chemical attack Al-Qusayr offensive Second Battle of al-Qusayr Bayda and Baniyas massacres Second Hama offensive Hatla massacre Khan al-Assal chemical attack Khan al-Assal massacre Adra massacre Battle of Ras al-Ayn Fourth Rif Dimashq offensive Aleppo offensive 2014 (Jan–Jul • Aug–Dec) First Inter-Rebel Conflict Battle of Markada First Deir ez-Zor Offensive Battle of Mork 2nd Daraa Offensive Maan massacre Al-Otaiba ambush 4th Idlib Offensive Battle of Hosn 2nd Latakia Offensive Battle of Al-Malihah Kafr Zita chemical attack Second Siege of Wadi Deif 2nd Qalamoun Offensive Battle of Arsal First Battle of the Shaer gas field Eastern Syria Offensive Battle for Tabqa Air base 3rd Hama Offensive Quneitra Offensive 6th Rif Dimashq offensive Siege of Kobanî 3rd Daraa offensive 2nd Al-Safira offensive Idlib Raid Second Inter-Rebel Conflict Second Battle of the Shaer gas field Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin 2nd Deir ez-Zor offensive 2015 (Jan–Jul • Aug–Dec) An-26 crash 4th Daraa Offensive Southern Syria Offensive Eastern al-Hasakah offensive 1st Battle of Sarrin 2nd Battle of Sarrin Battle of Bosra 5th Idlib Offensive Second Battle of Idlib Battle of Nasib Border Crossing 2nd Battle of Yarmouk Camp Western al-Hasakah offensive Palmyra offensive (May 2015) Tell Abyad offensive Kobanî massacre Quneitra offensive Palmyra offensive (July–August 2015) 7th Rif Dimashq offensive Northwestern Syria offensive 2015 Aleppo offensive 2015 Al-Hawl offensive Homs offensive (November–December 2015) East Aleppo offensive (2015–16) Latakia offensive (2015–2016) Tishrin Dam offensive 2015 Russian Sukhoi Su-24 shootdown 2016 (Jan–Apr * May–Aug) Second Battle of Al-Shaykh Maskin 3rd Deir ez-Zor offensive Sayyidah Zaynab bombings Wusta clashes Northern Aleppo offensive (February 2016) Ithriyah-Raqqah offensive (February–March 2016) Al-Shaddadi offensive (2016) February Homs bombings February Sayyidah Zaynab bombings 2016 Khanasir offensive Battle of Tel Abyad Qamishli clashes (April 2016) Northern Aleppo offensive (March–June 2016) Palmyra offensive (March 2016) East Ghouta inter-rebel conflict (April–May 2016) 8th Rif Dimashq offensive Northern Raqqa offensive (May 2016) May 2016 Jableh and Tartous bombings Ithriyah-Raqqah offensive (June 2016) 9th Rif Dimashq offensive Manbij offensive (2016) Tokhar 2016 Southern Aleppo campaign Battle of al-Rai (August 2016) 2016 Aleppo campaign Jarabulus offensive (2016) Western al-Bab offensive (2016) 5 September 2016 Syria bombings September 2016 Deir ez-Zor air raid September 2016 Urum al-Kubra Aid Convoy Attack September Aleppo offensive 2016 Dabiq offensive Western al-Bab offensive (October 2016) Aleppo offensive (October 2016) Khan al-Shih offensive (October 2016) Northern Raqqa offensive (November 2016) Northern al-Bab offensive (November 2016) Battle of al-Bab (2016) Aleppo offensive (November 2016) Spillover Spillover into Lebanon Lebanese–Syrian border clashes Battle of Sidon Iranian Embassy Bombing Northern Lebanon Clashes Syrian-Turkish border clashes December 2011 Syrian–Turkish border clash Turkish aircraft shootdown October 2012 Syrian-Turkish border clashes Reyhanlı bombings January 2014 Turkish airstrike in Syria Israeli–Syrian ceasefire line incidents Jordanian-Syrian border clashes April 2014 Jordanian–Syrian border airstrike Spillover into Iraq Akashat ambush Operation al-Shabah April 2014 Iraqi–Syrian border airstrike
Involved parties Syria Ba'ath Government| Syrian Regional Branch of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party Syrian Social Nationalist Party Arab Socialist Movement Syrian Communist Party Military & Militias Syrian Armed Forces Ba'ath Brigades Syrian Resistance Syrian Social Nationalist Party PFLP-GC Palestine Liberation Army Liwa al-Quds Smaller groups Support for the government Hezbollah involvement Iranian involvement Liwa Fatemiyoun Russia's involvement military intervention Russia–Syria–Iran–Iraq coalition Popular Mobilization Forces (Iraq) Opposition & allies NCSR Government National Coalition Local Co-ordination Committees Syrian National Council Supreme Council of the Syrian Revolution National Coordination Committee for Democratic Change Syrian Revolution General Commission Syrian Support Group Adopt a Revolution Opposition militias Jaysh al-Halab Fatah Halab Hawar Kilis Southern Front Jaysh al-Islam Al-Rahman Legion Liwa al-Majid Martyrs of Islam Brigade Ajnad al-Sham Islamic Union Victory Brigades New Syrian Army Jaysh Usud al-Sharqiya Forces of Martyr Ahmad al-Abdo Jabhat Ansar al-Islam Alwiya al-Furqan Support for the Opposition American-led intervention American rescue mission Jordanian intervention Qatari involvement Saudi Arabia Turkey Army of Conquest & allies Army of Conquest Jabhat Fateh al-Sham Ahrar al-Sham Sham Legion Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki Jaysh al-Sunna Suqour al-Sham Brigade Liwa al-Haqq Turkistan Islamic Party in Syria Allied groups Jabhat Ansar al-Din Ansar al-Sham Caucasus Emirate Ajnad al-Kavkaz Junud al Makhdi Rojava (SDF) Rojava government Democratic Union Party Kurdish National Council Smaller political groups SDF groups People's Protection Units Women's Protection Units Al-Sanadid Forces Syriac Military Council Army of Revolutionaries Liwa Thuwar al-Raqqa Al-Nukhbat Brigade Free Officers Union SDF Military Councils ISIL Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant Military of ISIL Jamaat Bayt al-Maqdis al-Islamiya Dokumacılar Allied groups Khalid ibn al-Walid Army
People Ammar Abdulhamid Ali al-Abdallah Adnan al-Aroor al-Assad family Bashar Maher Rifaat Rami Makhlouf Hafez Makhlouf Riad al-Asaad Anwar al-Bunni Fahd Jassem al-Freij Haitham al-Maleh Moaz al-Khatib Kamal al-Labwani Hamza al-Khateeb Tal al-Mallohi Fida al-Sayed Riad al-Turk Khaled Khoja Ammar al-Qurabi Suheir Atassi Ali Sadreddine Al-Bayanouni Aref Dalila Farid Ghadry Burhan Ghalioun Razan Ghazzawi Ghassan Hitto Salim Idris Randa Kassis Abdul Halim Khaddam Michel Kilo Bassma Kodmani Ali Habib Mahmud Ali Mahmoud Othman Ibrahim Qashoush Dawoud Rajiha Yassin al-Haj Saleh Bouthaina Shaaban Adib Shishakly Abdulbaset Sieda Riad Seif Fadwa Soliman Mohamad Anas Haitham Soueid Yaser Tabbara Razan Zaitouneh Rami Jarrah Abdurrahman Mustafa
Issues Peace process Related topics Issues Casualties Chemical weapons Cities and towns Damaged heritage sites Foreign involvement Human rights violations Humanitarian aid International reactions International demonstrations and protests Massacres Refugees (European migrant crisis) Sectarianism and minorities Spillover into Lebanon Syrian reactions Peace process Arab League monitors Friends of Syria Group Kofi Annan peace plan UN Supervision Mission Lakhdar Brahimi peace plan U.S.–Russia peace proposals on Syria 39th G8 summit UN Security Council Resolution 2118 Geneva II Conference 2015 Zabadani cease-fire agreement 2015 Vienna talks 2016 Geneva talks Related topics 2014 Syrian detainee report Exclusive mandate Fourth Extraordinary Session of the Islamic Summit Conference International recognition of the Syrian National Council Syria Files Syrian media coverage The Return to Homs Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait Sunnistan
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