Ceasefire in Lebanon border town extended for 24 hours mediators

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A ceasefire between the Lebanese army and Islamist militants fighting near the Syrian border was extended on Wednesday for 24 hours, Muslim clerics mediating between the sides said on Wednesday (August 6).

In a televised news conference, they also said three Lebanese soldiers taken captive by the militants had been released, and that the militants had started withdrawing from the border town of Arsal.

The clerics would also start negotiating the release of the remaining members of the security forces being held in the town, saying they numbered 27 - 10 soldiers and 17 policemen.

Earlier, a delegation of Muslim Scholars, headed by Sheikh Samih Ezzeddine, entered the border town of Arsal to proceed with negotiations pertaining to the release of kidnapped security forces, and the withdrawal of armed groups from the town.

The mayor of Arsal Ali Hjairi told LBCI that a large number of armed men withdrew from the town, adding that only few remain at the outskirts.

Meanwhile, clashes were reported between Lebanese Armed Forces soldiers and armed men in the Wadi al-Rayan and Wadi Ata hills which surround Arsal.

Machine gun fire and shelling broke out on Wednesday on the outskirts of the town in breach of the 24-hour truce, which came into force at 7 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Tuesday.

Arsal is the first major incursion into Lebanon by hardline Sunni militants - leading players in Sunni-Shi'ite violence unfolding across the Levant - which threatens the stability of Lebanon by inflaming its own sectarian tensions.

While Lebanon has officially tried to distance itself from Syria's conflict, the country's powerful Shi'ite movement, Hezbollah, has sent fighters to aid President Bashar al-Assad.

Dozens of armored-personnel carriers and tanks were seen on the road heading towards the area. Lebanese special forces were also being deployed on Wednesday, arriving at the nearby town of al-Labweh, where hundreds of soldiers are stationed.

At least 17 soldiers have been killed and more than 22 security forces are missing from the violence in and around Arsal.

Reports from inside the town suggest dozens of civilians and militants have been killed.

AID CONVOY

A group of al-Labweh residents intercepted on Wednesday a convoy carrying humanitarian aid en route to Arsal, claiming that it carried aid for members of Jabhat al-Nusra and the Islamic State.

In this regard, the Lebanese Armed Forces intervened and held negotiations with al-Labweh mayor. Nonetheless, the residents who were staging a protest prevented the convoy from entering the town.

LBCI/REUTERS

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Ceasefire in Lebanon border town extended for 24 hours-mediators

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