Ambush on the border: 107 illegal crossings closed as Lebanese Army thwarts arms smuggling

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi    

A Lebanese Army ambush in the border village of Aaiha in Rachaya district disrupted a weapons smuggling operation from Syria, triggering a blast and resulting in the injury and arrest of one smuggler. 

The smugglers were transporting weapons and ammunition from Syria into Lebanon using mules through illegal mountain crossings. 

Following the ambush, the army conducted a series of raids and made additional arrests in connection with the smuggling network. The operation marks part of a broader crackdown by the Lebanese military on smuggling and cross-border incidents along the eastern and northern frontiers with Syria.
 
In response to recent tensions and clashes in northern Bekaa, Lebanese and Syrian Defense Ministers officials held a high-level meeting in Saudi Arabia. The talks between Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Mnassa and his Syrian counterpart, Murhaf Abu Qasra, created a joint operations room. 

The unit, headed by Lebanese-Syrian Coordination Office Chief General Michel Boutros and including representatives from General Security, aims to bolster bilateral coordination on border security.

Additional sub-operations rooms were established in the Bekaa and northern regions, integrating army and General Security units to respond to cross-border threats swiftly. These units relay incidents to the central command room, which engages with Syrian counterparts, occasionally resulting in joint meetings for on-the-ground resolution. 

One example of this mechanism in action occurred in Yanta, a village in Rachaya, where a cross-border shooting at Lebanese soldiers was addressed through bilateral coordination.

Since the beginning of the year, the Lebanese Army has shut down 107 illegal border crossings with Syria. The crackdown intensified following the Saudi-hosted defense talks.
 
In northern Lebanon, army patrols have increased security patrols, focusing on high-risk towns and known smuggling routes.