'Weak' Coordination between Security Apparatuses, Hizbullah along Border with Syria

Coordination between Lebanese security forces and Hizbullah amid the ongoing battles along the border with Syria is “weak,” al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Saturday.

Sources said that there “are no contacts between the security agencies and Hizbullah over the developments on the Qalamoun front, the outskirts of Arsal and other town in the Bekaa.”

The sources said that exerted efforts failed to “enhance” the cooperation between them after the recent situation in the town of Tufail, which lies in eastern Lebanon in an area surrounded by Syrian territory.

The report noted that Hizbullah failed to engage in any agreement with Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq to aid the Lebanese in Tufail, forcing them to leave their homes.

In June, the residents of the town of Tufail were forced to leave their village after an infiltration by the Syrian army and Hizbullah fighters that was accompanied by air raids.

In April, the village of Tufail was isolated after the only road that leads to the town came under the control of Syrian government troops.

The town is located at the end of the eastern mountain belt's plains, in an area that is 24 kilometers inside Syrian territories. Tufail is surrounded by Syrian lands to its north, east and south, and by the Lebanese villages of Ham, Maarboun and Brital to its west.

More than 4,000 Lebanese nationals reside in Tufail, Christians and Muslims, among them there are around 25 soldiers in the army and some 5,000 Syrian refugees.

Al-Joumhouria quoted sources as saying: “Lebanese security agencies are carrying out their tasks inside Lebanese territories within their capabilities to prevent infiltration and maintain a minimum level of stability along the border.”

Meanwhile, battles resumed in the Eastern Mountain range, on the Lebanese-Syrian border, between Hizbullah and gunmen.

“Coordination is ongoing between the Syrian regime forces and Hizbullah in the battles ongoing on the outskirts of Lebanon,” security sources told the newspaper.

Since Sunday, the Eastern Mountain Range has been witnessing heavy fighting between Hizbullah and al-Nusra Front militants as Syrian warplanes have also raided the outskirts of Arsal, Wadi Nahle, Younine, Falita and Kara.

The fighting killed more than 100 people including Omar al-Yakzan an aide to Sirajeddine Zouraikat spokesman for the Abdullah Azzam Brigades, in addition to hundreds who were wounded and 17 captured insurgents.

Arsal, a predominantly Sunni area, backs the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad.

The town lies 12 kilometers from the border with Syria and has been used as a conduit for weapons and rebels to enter Syria, while also serving as a refuge for people fleeing the conflict.

The town has seen a massive influx of refugees as a result of the heavy fighting in Qalamoun.

H.K.