In the latest developments, since Sunday, a new round of clashes between the HTS fighters and Lebanese tribes over the border took place. The clashes erupted after three members of the HTS, who intended to cross the border into Lebanon in Al-Qaser region, were killed in clashes with tribal forces and a number of their friends were wounded and hospitalized in the region.
After the incident, the HTS deployed forces from Homs and Damascus to the border areas and fired artillery at border regions, including Hermel. Social media activists published footages showing Syrian forces shelling regions inside Lebanon and displacing people. Al-Nashrah news outlet reported that as a result of the shelling by the Syrian armed groups to Al-Qaser and Hawsh Sayyed Ali, a Lebanese child was killed.
High alert on two sides of border
Despite Hezbollah's statement rejecting links to clashes with the Syrian side, the HTS in a statement claimed that Hezbollah members captured three members of the so-called Syrian army on the border near Zida Dam west of Homs in an ambush, took them inside Lebanon, and killed them. After these allegations, the Syrian armed groups said they will take all necessary measures. Sources told Al-Arabiya that the armed groups in Syria are preparing for confrontation with Lebanon on borders.
Following the incident, the Lebanese army said that contacts between the army command and Syrian authorities are continuing to control security and maintain stability in the border area. The Lebanese army stressed: "We have reinforced our forces on the Syrian borders to control the security situation. Our military units responded with appropriate weapons to the source of the fire from Syrian territory. We handed over the bodies of the three Syrians to the authorities of this country."
The border areas between Lebanon and Syria have witnessed sporadic clashes, often due to smuggling activities or security tensions between armed groups, amid the complex security situation in the region. Late last month, amid increasing security tensions in the region, clashes broke out between HTS elements and Lebanese tribes, resulting in several deaths and injuries.
HTS seeks to stir unrest and instability in Lebanon through its attacks for political agenda.
Pushing to drag Hezbollah into conflict
Given Hezbollah’s record of supporting Bashar al-Assad’s government in the war against terrorist groups last decade, the HTS, which still sees its position inside Syria as shaky and unstable, has the necessary historical, political, and military motivations to weaken Hezbollah’s positions and cut its influence in the region. Therefore, by escalating the situation on the border, the group is trying to draw Hezbollah into new conflicts and thereby undermine its regional influence.
Having in mind that the Syrian rebel groups have suffered heavy blows from Hezbollah forces in the Syrian civil war and now that they have seized the power, they are trying to drag Hezbollah into a new conflict in order to perhaps avenge some of their deaths.
The recent tensions occurred a week after resistance groups in the provinces of Latakia and Tartus clashed with the HTS elements. The interim government in Damascus accused Hezbollah and some regional actors of being involved in these armed actions.
The excuses of the rebel groups on the Lebanese borders come at a time when Abu Mohammad al-Jolani, the former terrorist ringleader and current interim president of new Syrian government, has repeatedly claimed that the groups under his command pose no threat to neighboring countries. However, the experience of the past three months has shown that these groups not only are not seeking to establish order and security in Syria and provide security on the shared borders with Iraq and Lebanon, but also are also working to destabilize the neighbors.
Playing in Israeli game
There is no doubt that any conflict in the Muslim countries, especially in those bordering Israel, plays into hands of Tel Aviv. So, as observers suggest, we can track Israeli and American footprints in the recent Syrian-Lebanese clashes. Washington and Tel Aviv want to distract Hezbollah from the northern borders of Israel to keep the Lebanese regions Israel occupied in recent war under its control.
Also, by provoking the clashes with neighbors, they want to distract the interim government in Damascus from the Israeli occupation of large parts of Syria's south. Because the Israeli intelligence services estimate that the al-Jolani government is probably preparing an action against Israel in order to escape from the burden of domestic criticism for its inaction to Israel incursion into Syrian territory, and that is why the Israeli defense minister recently threatened in his remarks that Tel Aviv is monitoring al-Jolani's movements from a distance of 40 kilometers from Damascus.
The Syrian armed groups are waging war with the aim of destabilizing the Lebanese borders, while they have not given any military response in the past two months to the Israeli army that turned southern Syria into its rampancy ground.
Since taking control of Damascus, al-Jolani and other HTS leaders have tried to relax regional and international concerns about the terrorist background and takfiri views of the group's leaders by changing their appearance and making rhetoric of democracy and respect for human rights. The credibility of this issue was severely questioned from the very first days, with the start of blind assassinations and revenge by armed elements against minorities and security officials affiliated with the former government. Now, the attack on Lebanese soil will further increase doubts about the change in approach of armed groups and the new regime's commitment to maintaining the stability and security of neighboring countries.
New challenge to region
Since the West Asia has been through waves of crises over the past two years, the recent clashes between the Syrian armed groups and Lebanese forces will bear many political and security consequences. In terms of security, these tensions can lead to border instability and risk penetration of terrorist groups to Lebanon.
The border clashes can heighten tensions between Syria and Lebanon and endanger regional stability. Further clashes can displace residents of border areas and cause a humanitarian crisis, putting a heavy burden on the two countries that are already in their worst economic conditions.
Additionally, escalated tensions can motivate intervention of regional and international players in the clashes and complicate the situation. Therefore, the recent HTS actions on the Lebanese-Syrian border could have serious consequences for the security and stability of the region. It is essential that the international community and regional countries take appropriate measures to prevent the escalation of tensions and contribute to the peaceful resolution of disputes.
Finally, the HTS actions fall within an evil Western-Israeli plot to cut off Damascus-Beirut relations, sending a proper signal to the Israeli regime to establish its occupation in southern Syria and Lebanon under the excuse of lack of security on its borders.
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