Syrian forces take control: Ceasefire agreement holds on Lebanese-Syrian border

Report by Edmond Sassine, English adaptation by Yasmine Jaroudi    

A ceasefire held on Lebanon's eastern border following an agreement between Lebanese and Syrian defense ministers, with military intelligence and security officials from both sides tasked with monitoring its implementation. 
 
However, the truce has done little to ease the anger of the displaced residents of Hawsh al-Sayyid Ali, who have been forced from their homes.  

The newly formed Syrian army has taken control of the border town, including parts that lie within Lebanese territory. Smoke continues to rise from the area, which remains inaccessible. 

At the town's entrance, Lebanese Army units are positioned opposite Syrian forces, who have advanced as far as the local public school and taken over a Lebanese Army checkpoint.  

Clan members in the area, armed and on high alert, have refrained from direct confrontation, deferring to the Lebanese Army's decision. The military has dispatched reinforcements from its airborne regiment to the outskirts of Hawsh al-Sayyid Ali, but as of the reporting time, they had not moved in. 

Negotiations between Lebanese military intelligence and the Syrian army have so far failed to secure a Syrian withdrawal or the return of displaced residents.  

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is facilitating efforts to recover the body of a Lebanese man from the Haj Hassan family, who was killed outside his home in the town, and return it to his relatives.