BEIRUT, January 4. /TASS/. The situation on the Syrian-Lebanese border following the Friday shootout was the focus of a phone call between Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Syria’s new leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Lebanese prime minister’s office said.
According to its post on the X network, al-Sharaa reaffirmed that Syria’s authorities have taken measures to restore tranquility on the shared border and promised to prevent similar incidents.
Four Lebanese soldiers were wounded on January 3 in a shootout with a group of armed Syrians who were trying to cross into Lebanon via the blocked illegal crossing near Maarabun east of Baalbek. After warning shots, the militants, who were reportedly linked with smugglers from the Syrian border city of Serghaya, opened grenade fire at the Lebanese army patrol.
Following the clash, army units deployed to this border section took additional security measures. Meanwhile, a mechanized convoy was dispatched to the area from Damascus. After it arrived to the site, fire at the Lebanese territory stopped.
According to the Al-Markaziya news agency, the border authorities on Friday blocked entry to Syria for Lebanese nationals via the al-Masnaa checkpoint on the Beirut-Damascus highway. The checkpoints of al-Abbudiyah and Jisr Qamar in northern Lebanon were also closed.
Following the incident, Syria’s authorities allowed entry to the country only for those Lebanese citizens who have residency permits, which creates problems for the transit of Lebanese commodity to Gulf countries via Syria.