The Lebanese Armed Forces regained control on Sunday over the military barracks in Arsal, following fierce clashes with armed men who had stormed it, leaving several casualties. Military vehicles and tanks were reported missing from the barracks.
This comes as a motorized unit of the LAF Commando Regiment was brought into the town for the first time.
Meanwhile, Lebanese soldiers traded fire with Islamist gunmen and shelled areas around the border town of Arsal in a push to dislodge the biggest incursion by militants into Lebanon since Syria's civil war began.
Accordingly, the Lebanese Armed Forces’ Airborne Regiment brought armored reinforcement into Arsal, in an attempt to regain control over the area of Wadi al-Hosn
Elsewhere, clashes also broke out at the outskirts of the town of Labweh between army members and gunmen.
During the clashes, the Lebanese army killed a large number of gunmen in the mountainous region of the town and managed to detain others, after freeing a soldier kidnapped in the town of al-Msaydeh.
Sources told LBCI that Lebanese citizen Mohammad Qassem al-Fliti was killed by armed men in Arsal.
Security sources reported that the number of armed men fighting against the Lebanese army in Arsal reached 6000 men.
Meanwhile, the Lebanese Armed Forces Chief General Jean Kahwagi held a press conference at the Defense Ministry, where he declared that 10 LAF members were killed, 25 others, including 4 officers were injured and 13 soldiers went missing during the clashes.
On the other hand, a military source told LBCI that the majority of the armed men who are clashing with the army came from the Syrian refugee camps.
Other security sources also told LBCI that the Imad Jomaa, who was arrested on Saturday by the army, is the leader of Fajr al-Islam Brigade that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State a few days ago. The sources added that Jomaa had been inspecting the area in an attempt to implement terrorist attacks against the army.
On another note, sources reported that Prime Minister Tammam Salam is set to launch an initiative in order to reach a ceasefire in Arsal, noting that the terms of truce will include the withdrawal of gunmen from the town, the release of all the detained security forces and transporting the wounded to hospitals.
In the reactions, the head of the National Struggle Front MP Walid Jumblatt stressed the need to support the army in its fight against armed men and Takfiri groups.
For his part, Justice Minister Ashraf Rifi told LBCI that the solution for the tension in Arsal should not take a military or security aspect, but must be dealt with from a political perspective.
In turn, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil pointed out that the incidents taking place in Arsal are a form of occupation of a Lebanese town by foreign armed groups.
On Saturday afternoon, several Lebanese Armed Forces members were killed and injured during the clashes that erupted in Arsal, after Syrian gunmen deployed in across the town’s mountainous region, in retaliation for the arrest of Syrian national Imad Ahmad Jomaa at a LAF checkpoint.
Jomaa was arrested while being transferred to a hospital after he sustained wounds during a fighting on the outskirts of Arsal.
Arsal, a predominantly Sunnite area, supports the revolt against Syrian President Bashar Assad.
The town is located 12 kilometers away from the Lebanese-Syrian border and has been used to smuggle weapons and rebels into Syria, while also serving as a refuge for people fleeing the war-torn country.
The town has witnessed a massive influx of refugees due to the heavy fighting in Qalamoun.
The area has also witnessed frequent tensions with Lebanese security forces, as well as air raids launched by the Syrian regime troops across the border allegedly targeting rebel forces hidden in the mountainous region.
Al-Nusra Front has been fighting against Syrian government forces along with other rebel groups.
LBCI/REUTERS
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