Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shia militant group, launched a significant attack today against jihadists occupying the border with Syria, forcing hundreds of people at nearby refugee camps to flee.
The attack by the group, which is allied to President Assad and is now also part of Lebanon’s governing coalition, had been prepared for some weeks and is intended to stop the flow of Sunni rebels in and out of Syria. The Sunni-dominated town of Arsal in east Lebanon and the mountains beyond have been a route into Syria for rebels since the start of the war.
Some of the refugee camps set up there were occupied by jihadists from Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the latest incarnation of the Nusra Front, the al-Qaeda-aligned militia in Syria, and also allegedly Islamic State fighters.
However, activists from the area said that Hezbollah was also targeting positions occupied by mainstream rebel groups aligned to the Free Syrian Army, including its biggest faction in the area, Saraya Ahl al-Sham.
Hezbollah’s attack began on both sides of the border, according to media run by the group. The Lebanese army was said not to be taking part, but was preventing militants retreating into the town of Arsal. In one case, it shelled a group of fighters heading towards its positions, it said. It was also co-ordinating the passage of fleeing refugees with the United Nations and the Red Cross.
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“We can hear the sounds of war, of clashes and shelling,” said Hussein Abu Ali, an activist, speaking from Arsal. “Hezbollah launched a very fierce offensive on the positions of HTS and Saraya Ahl al-Sham.” He claimed that there had been heavy Hezbollah casualties.
The new coalition government in Lebanon has strengthened the hand of pro-Assad factions, particularly Hezbollah, though Saad Hariri, the prime minister, has in the past been a supporter of the rebels in Syria.
Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah, had warned that an attack was imminent in a televised speech to celebrate the defeat of Islamic State in Mosul last week. “It’s time to end the threat posed by armed groups on Arsal’s outskirts,” he said, claiming that they received their instructions “from Raqqa and Mosul”.