The second phase of the swap deal between Hezbollah and the al-Nusra Front started on Monday under the auspices of the Lebanese General Security. Buses arrived at Wadi Hmayyed in the morning to start transporting the militants and their families. This as the Lebanese Armed Forces made the buses gather in Arsal to evacuate the militants and their relatives. Meanwhile, The Syrian Red Crescent ambulances arrived to Flita and are expected to accompany the buses that will leave the outskirts of Arsal.
This as a military source told LBCI that the buses gathered under the auspices of the Lebanese army at the Wadi Hmayyed border crossing, adding that the swap deal will not take place today. Under a local ceasefire between militants and Hezbollah, fighters and their families were to leave on Monday from Lebanon's border region into rebel territory in Syria in exchange for Hezbollah prisoners. Hezbollah has played a main role in fighting militants along the borders during Syria's six-year war, sending combatants to support Syrian President Bachar Assad's government. Last week, Hezbollah controlled most of the mountainous zone of Arsal’s outskirts in a joint offensive with the Syrian army to push militants from their border foothold.