BEIRUT: The Lebanese army on Wednesday entered the town of Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali, on Lebanon’s eastern border with the Syrian Arab Republic.
Its vehicles reached the town’s administrative border as established in official Lebanese state maps.
According to these maps, the town is divided into two: one part in Syrian territory, inhabited by Lebanese citizens; and the other in Lebanese territory.
The development follows communications between the Syrian and Lebanese sides to halt armed clashes that began last Sunday as a result of disputes among smugglers in an area teeming with illegal crossings.
The conflict escalated on Monday after the killing of three Syrian gunmen, and evolved into a broader confrontation between Lebanese tribes and armed members of the new Syrian authorities.
According to the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the clashes and killings resulted in “the death of seven Lebanese citizens and the injury of 52 others.”
Additionally, property and buildings suffered heavy damage in the exchange of shelling between Syrian forces and Lebanese tribes.
Forces affiliated with the Syrian Ministry of Defense entered the Syrian part of the Lebanese town on Monday night.
Negotiations between the Lebanese and Syrian sides over deployment zones, based on border maps between the two countries, delayed the Lebanese army’s deployment for several hours, when a Lebanese army convoy of 60 vehicles arrived on the outskirts of Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali.
An official source in the area said the Lebanese army’s deployment “was not smooth, as it faced protests related to the confiscation of weapons belonging to local clans. However, the situation soon returned to normal, allowing the army to continue its mission.
The Lebanese army command announced that its units “commenced implementing security measures in the Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali area of Hermel, including the deployment of patrols, to maintain security and ensure stability in the border region.”
It said the army has taken measures “to close illegal crossings between Lebanon and Syria,” adding: “As part of the efforts to monitor and secure the borders in light of the current situation, and to prevent infiltration and smuggling activities, a unit of the army has closed the illegal crossings, which include Al-Matlaba in the Qasr-Hermel area, as well as Al-Fatha, Al-Maarawiya, and Shahit Al-Hujairi in the Mashari’ Al-Qaa-Baalbek region.”
President Joseph Aoun monitored the security developments along the northeastern border through a series of communications with army chief Gen. Rodolphe Haikal.
According to the presidency, Haikal briefed the president on “the measures being implemented by the army to restore calm and stability to the area.”
Aoun underlined “the importance of consolidating the ceasefire, halting aggression, and controlling the borders adjacent to the villages.”
On Monday he said that the situation on the eastern and northeastern borders cannot persist and that “the army will not allow the chaos to continue.” He then ordered the Lebanese army to respond to the sources of fire.
Subsequently, communications between Lebanon and Syria intensified, including talks between the two countries’ foreign ministers to find solutions to the escalation in border incidents.
These efforts led to a ceasefire agreement between the intelligence services of the two countries after a call between Lebanese Defense Minister Michel Menassa and his Syrian counterpart, Murhaf Abu Qasra.
Syrian media outlets on Tuesday night reported that “Syrian forces seized a Hezbollah operations room in Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali, which contained large quantities of weapons, ammunition, drugs and equipment used to manufacture counterfeit tobacco.”
After the army’s deployment, displaced families from Hawsh Al-Sayyid Ali on Wednesday started preparing to return to their homes.
Hezbollah has firmly denied any involvement in the border clashes with Syria.
Lebanese army begins securing border with Syria, closes illegal crossings
https://arab.news/654z8
Lebanese army begins securing border with Syria, closes illegal crossings
- Lebanese Army vehicles reached the town’s administrative border as established in official Lebanese state maps
- The development follows communications between the Syrian and Lebanese sides to halt armed clashes that began last Sunday
Darfur civilians ‘face mass atrocities and ethnic violence’
- Medical charity warns of new threat from escalation in fighting in Sudan civil war
KHARTOUM: Civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan face mass atrocities and ethnic violence in the civil war between the regular army and its paramilitary rivals, the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres warned on Thursday.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have sought to consolidate their power in Darfur since losing control of the capital Khartoum in March. Their predecessor, the Janjaweed militia, was accused of genocide in Darfur two decades ago.
The paramilitaries have intensified attacks on El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state which they have besieged since May 2024 in an effort to push the army out of its final stronghold in the region.
“People are not only caught in indiscriminate heavy fighting ... but also actively targeted by the Rapid Support Forces and their allies, notably on the basis of their ethnicity,” said Michel-Olivier Lacharite, Medecins Sans Frontieres’ head of emergencies. There were “threats of a full-blown assault,” on El-Fasher, which is home to hundreds of thousands of people largely cut off from food and water supplies and deprived of access to medical care, he said.
Egypt on alert as giant dam in Ethiopia completed
ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia moved on Thursday to reassure Egypt about its water supply after completing work on a controversial giant $4 billion dam on the Blue Nile.
“To our neighbors downstream, our message is clear: the dam is not a threat, but a shared opportunity,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said.
“The energy and development it will generate stand to uplift not just Ethiopia. We believe in shared progress, shared energy, and shared water. Prosperity for one should mean prosperity for all.”
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is 1.8 km wide and 145 meters high, and is Africa's largest hydroelectric project. It can hold 74 billion cubic meters of water and generate more than 5,000 megawatts of power — more than double Ethiopia’s current output. It will begin full operations in September.
Egypt already suffers from severe water scarcity and sees the dam as an existential threat because the country relies on the Nile for 97 percent of its water. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Sudan’s leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan met last week and “stressed their rejection of any unilateral measures in the Blue Nile basin.” They were committed to safeguarding water security in the region, Sisi’s spokesman said.
Explosive drone intercepted near Irbil airport in northern Iraq, security statement says
- The “Flight operations at the airport continued normally,” the Irbil airport authority said
IRBIL, Iraq: An explosive drone was shot down near Irbil airport in northern Iraq on Thursday, the Iraqi Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism service said in a statement.
There were no casualties reported, according to two security sources.
The “Flight operations at the airport continued normally and the airport was not affected by any damage,” the Irbil airport authority said in a statement.
The incident only caused a temporary delay in the landing of one aircraft, the statement added.
Jordanian and Vatican officials discuss promotion of Petra as destination for Christian pilgrims
- They say there is a strategic opportunity to integrate the UNESCO World Heritage Site into routes for Christian travelers
- Head of tourism authority says highlighting Petra’s significance to Christian heritage itineraries could enhance Jordan’s position on global religious tourism map
LONDON: Officials from Jordan and the Vatican met on Thursday to discuss ways in which they can cooperate to advance religious tourism, including the promotion of the ancient city of Petra as a destination for Christian pilgrims.
Fares Braizat, who chairs the board of commissioners of the Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority, said that highlighting the significance of the UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of Christian heritage itineraries could enhance Jordan’s position on the global religious tourism map.
The country has a number of important Christian sites, the most significant of which is the location on the eastern bank of the Jordan River where Jesus is said to have been baptized by John the Baptist. Several popes have visited it, including Francis and John Paul II.
Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, the Vatican’s ambassador to Jordan, confirmed the interest in collaborating with Jordanian authorities, and praised the nation’s stability and its rich historical and religious heritage.
Both officials acknowledged the strategic opportunity that exists to integrate Petra into pilgrimage routes for Christian travelers, the Jordan News Agency reported.
The Petra tourism authority recently lit up the Colosseum in Rome with the signature colors of the historic Jordanian site to celebrate a twinning agreement as part of a marketing strategy to attract European visitors, and to raise Petra’s profile globally as a premier cultural and spiritual tourism destination.
The Vatican itself is also a major tourism destination, for Christian pilgrims in particular. In 2025 it is expected to welcome between 30 and 35 million visitors during its latest Jubilee Year, a significant ecclesiastical event that takes place every 25 years.
