Clashes broke out on Thursday along the Lebanese-Syrian border between gunmen from Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and Lebanese tribes in the Syrian town of Hawik, which is also home to a Lebanese community.
HTS fighters reportedly managed to infiltrate the town, located off Lebanon’s eastern district of Hermel, sparking confrontations with the Jaafar and Zeaïter clans that later spread to the nearby border town of Jarmash.
The gunmen traded machinegun fire and mortar shells during which a shell struck the Lebanese town of al-Qasr, injuring a Lebanese citizen.
These armed clashes resulted in the death of a young man from the Jaafar family.
HTS members also detained Ahmad Zeaïter, Abdo Zeaïter, Moukhtar Bassam Noun and 10 women from the Zeaïter and al-Jamal families. Efforts are underway to release them.
Additionally, sources indicated that two members of HTS were captured in Hawik as the clashes continued to escalate.
According to Syrian media reports, HTS men have given the Lebanese side a six-hour deadline to release the prisoners.
The Syrian government's media office in Homs announced, according to SANA, that the border security department had launched a major campaign in the border village of Hawik to close down crossing points for weapons and contraband.
“The campaign has so far resulted in the arrest of a number of wanted individuals involved in illegal smuggling operations, as well as the seizure of quantities of weapons and contraband in their possession,” it added.
The Syrian government media office also said in its statement that during the campaign, clashes took place between border security forces and a number of wanted individuals, resulting in the kidnapping of two members of Syrian forces.
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