Syria's New HTS Government Clashes With Hezbollah On Lebanese Border In First

For the first time since Assad's ouster in early December, Syrian Army under the new Islamist government of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have entered areas of Hermel, Lebanon, resulting in fierce clashes with Hezbollah fighters.

The border breach came amid internecine fighting this week along the border, which Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA) reported as involving "artillery shelling and heavy machine gun fire on the town of Jarmash on the city of Hermel’s northern border with Syria."

Jarmash actually precisely straddles the border, with one part of it in Lebanese territory and the other in Syria. The Lebanese national army has said it is not involve, as this involves local militia forces. However, Lebanese national troops have been sent to secure the border area.

Unverified social media fighters have shown HTS jihadists launching shoulder-fired rockets onto Lebanese towns, and others show the militants firing blindly and wildly.

This particular border area was also a hotspot of fighting involving Shia and Sunni militants at the height of the Syrian proxy war of the last decade:

The fighting, which began early Thursday, escalated as Syrian forces repelled Hezbollah’s attempted advances near the Syrian town of Al Qusayr, a longtime stronghold of the Iran-backed group.

A field source told The Media Line that Hezbollah fighters launched multiple attempts to push into Al Qusayr but were met with heavy resistance from the Syrian Army, which forced them back into Lebanon. As the situation escalated, Syrian forces crossed into Hawik, a Lebanese town in the Hermel region, where intense combat forced Hezbollah elements to retreat.

There are reports that amid a pause in the fighting and following casualties, hostage exchanges will commence.

Syria's HTS-led government had previously announced it was launching an "extensive campaign" along Lebanese border areas to crack down on smuggling, but tribes and militias which have long overseen illegal border trade are firing back.

This week's fighting is a first such instance of HTS and Lebanese militants clashing, and at this rate it's unlikely to be the last.

HTS militants firing into Lebanon:

"The town of Hawik is known as a hotbed for smuggling between Lebanon and Syria," Beirut-based The Cradle writes. "Earlier this week, the HTS-led Military Operations Department deployed forces to set up checkpoints in an attempt to thwart smuggling."