Hizbullah Backs Syrian Army in Assal al-Ward, Says Prevented IS from Invading Beirut
Hizbullah was engaged on Tuesday in clashes alongside the Syrian army against Syrian rebels and al-Nusra Front in the Syrian town of Assal al-Ward near Lebanon's border, a few days after it repelled a major militant assault against Brital's outskirts.
“Clashes are underway between the gunmen and the Syrian regime army, which is being backed by Hizbullah, in Assal al-Ward and al-Jibbeh near Lebanon's eastern border,” LBCI TV reported.
OTV, meanwhile, reported “fierce battles” in Assal al-Ward.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights for its part said “regime forces, backed by the National Defense Force and Lebanon's Hizbullah, engaged in violent clashes with Islamist rebels and al-Nusra Front fighters in Qalamun's mountains.”
It reported the death of an Islamist rebel in clashes in Assal al-Ward.
Meanwhile, al-Nusra Front announced destroying "a tank belonging to the Nussairi (Syrian) army and Iran's Hizbullat (Hizbullah) at the Deir al-Banat post near the town of Assal al-Ward, using a MILAN missile."
Earlier in the day, a funeral was held in the Bekaa town of Ansar for slain Hizbullah fighter Ammar Assaf, who was killed in Sunday's clashes with al-Nusra's fighters in Brital.
Speaking at the funeral, Hizbullah top official Sheikh Mohammed Yazbek slammed the stances of some Lebanese parties over the Brital clashes as "irresponsible."
“We did not hear your voices, nor the voices of your masters, when the Israeli enemy's army opened fire at the Lebanese army and when a number of army troops and Internal Security Forces members were abducted. We did not hear you speaking or condemning, but you rather pressed on with your seditious approach,” Yazbek said, addressing the rival March 14 camp.
“Enough with your incitement against Hizbullah, as had it not been for Hizbullah, the ISIL group (Islamic State) would have reached Beirut and entire Lebanon, and you would have suffered the most damage,” Yazbek added, stressing that his party will carry on with its “approach and resistance, whatever the price might be.”
Al-Nusra Front had on Sunday launched an assault against a Hizbullah post in Brital's outskirts, which sparked a major confrontation with the group along the entire Eastern Mountain Range.
In the wake of the clashes, Hizbullah announced the death of eight its fighters, while saying that it managed to kill dozens of militants.
Commenting on the incidents, Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea said the clashes must push the government to “take a binding decision on Hizbullah's withdrawal from Syria,” reiterating his call for a “joint command and control center” with the anti-Islamic State international coalition.
For its part, March 14's general secretariat noted that “border defense at the hands of Hizbullah is rejected because of Hizbullah's involvement in the ongoing fighting in Syria and because it allows other illegitimate groups to posses arms under the pretext of equality.”
Y.R.
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