Lebanese Army Clashes with Syrian Rebels on Bekaa Border
A clash erupted on Sunday between Lebanese army troops and members of the rebel Free Syrian Army on the border between Syria and the Lebanese region of Bekaa.
“Today at 6:30 p.m., an army post in the border area of Masharii al-Qaa came under gunfire from armed men on the Syrian side of the border, which prompted troops to fire back,” the Army Command said in a statement.
“No casualties resulted from the clash,” the statement added, noting that “normalcy has been restored and army units have reinforced their security measures in the area in order to protect citizens and confront any attack.”
Earlier on Sunday, al-Manar television quoted a security source as saying that "fierce clashes erupted between the Lebanese army and members of the Free Syrian Army in Masharii al-Qaa in the Bekaa."
For its part, LBCI television described the incident as the first clash of its kind between the two sides.
“The clash broke out when a Lebanese border patrol detected opposition fighters on the border and the gunmen opened fire to prevent the patrol from proceeding any further,” a Lebanese military source told LBCI, noting that the incident did not cause any casualties.
On September 22, the Army Command said a group of Free Syrian Army rebels infiltrated the Bekaa town of Arsal and attacked a Lebanese army post in the area.
Since the beginning of the Syrian revolt in March 2011, there has been frequent infiltrations into Lebanon by both the Syrian army and rebels fighting to overthrow President Bashar Assad's regime.
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