Syria has restricted entry for Lebanese citizens, two security sources from Lebanon said on Friday, after Lebanese soldiers and armed Syrians clashed over the closure of a border crossing.
Syria has imposed new restrictions on the entry of Lebanese citizens, two security sources from Lebanon told AFP on Friday, following what the Lebanese army said was a border skirmish with armed Syrians.
The developments appeared to be the first instance of diplomatic friction between the two neighbours — who share a fraught history — since Islamist-led rebels topped longtime Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad last month.
Lebanese nationals had previously been allowed into Syria without a visa, using just their passport or ID.
But a Lebanese General Security official told AFP Friday that they were “surprised to see the border had been closed” to Lebanese citizens “from the Syrian side”.
The official, who like other sources spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said that no new border measures had been communicated to them yet.
A security source at Masnaa, the main land border crossing between the two countries, said Syrian authorities had implemented “new procedures” since last night, only allowing in Lebanese with residency permits or official permission.
The Lebanese army said in a statement on X that its soldiers and Syrians had clashed at the border as the armed forces tried to “close an illegal crossing”.
“Syrians attempted to open the crossing using a bulldozer, so army personnel fired warning shots into the air. The Syrians opened fire on army personnel, injuring one of them and provoking a clash”.
“Army units deployed in the sector have taken strict military measures,” the statement added.
Earlier, a Lebanese military official had said Syria’s move followed “skirmishes between the Lebanese army and Syrian armed men at the border” who were briefly detained by the army.
UPDATE: 4 LEBANESE SOLDIERS INJURED
The Lebanese army announced on Friday that four Lebanese soldiers were injured during renewed clashes with Syrian militants on the Lebanese-Syrian border.
In a statement on X, the Lebanese army said clashes renewed in the Ma’arboun-Baalbek area on the Lebanese-Syrian border after Syrian militants targeted a Lebanese military unit with medium weapons, which led to the injury of four army personnel.
In a separate statement earlier in the day, the army said that Syrians opened fire on an army unit that was closing an illegal border crossing in the Ma’arboun-Baalbek area in eastern Lebanon.
After encountering Syrian individuals who “tried to open the crossing with a bulldozer… the Lebanese army personnel fired warning shots into the air, and the Syrians opened fire on the army personnel, which led to one injury and a clash between the two sides,” the statement said.
A Lebanese military source told Xinhua that the Lebanese army “has summoned additional forces to this axis to reinforce it.”
(AFP)/FRANCE24