Les choses prennent une tournure extrêmement dangereuse.
According to a security source, in addition to the 16 Internal Security Force members, 13 Army soldiers were taken hostage by extremist armed groups controlling many parts of Arsal, who also assaulted Army vehicles and seized soldiers.
However, the source added that Army troops were able to take back control of Wadi Hmayyed, a neighborhood on the entrance of Arsal that has witnessed heavy, non-stop clashes.
The attacks against the Army confirmed that the terrorist threat against Lebanon has become reality, with the Army firmly vowing to carry on with its mission in north east Lebanon until the threat is eradicated.
“The Army continued its military operations throughout the night and this morning in Arsal and its environs, as it pursued armed groups and clashed with them,” the statement said.
Tensions have risen dramatically in the Bekaa Valley after an Army arrest of a Syrian militant sparked a standoff Saturday afternoon in Arsal, with armed men laying siege to government facilities in the border town, demanding the release of the captive.
Four wounded troops were sent Sunday to a hospital in Hermel, according to The Daily Star’s correspondent in the town. LBCI TV reported the death of another soldier who succumbed to his wounds, while other media reports said the Army casualties had reached 15.
Due to the escalation of the situation, a top security meeting was scheduled for Sunday afternoon, and will be headed by Prime Minister Tammam Salam in the Grand Serail, with an exceptional Cabinet meeting scheduled for Monday at noon.
Media reports said the Army was able to free two of the wounded soldiers, after raiding the house in which they were apprehended by armed groups. The reports mentioned that the Army unit also arrested many gunmen, whose alleged photos were shown by Al-Jadeed TV’s anchor.
According to The Daily Star correspondent in Arsal, Army artillery are shelling militants’ locations from distance, not going inside the town. The shelling is sometimes falling between residences, which has prompted the civilians’ concerns over their own safety.
Media reports said Arsal residents are attempting fleeing the town, but very few families were able to leave so far . The reports said that some residents of the town were fighting alongside the Army, others alongside the Nusra Front . Talking to a TV station, a resident reportedly described the situation as a battlefield inside the town.
Arsal’s deputy Mayor told The Daily Star that the Army should change tactics and invade the militants’ locations, rather than bombing them from distance.
“The Army is asked to enter Arsal and clean it of the militants,” he said. “Already four civilians have fallen trying to support the Army, whose responsibility is to protect Arsal’s residents.”
Security sources said that most of the gunmen attacking the Army came from refugee camps inside Arsal and its outskirts.
The Future Movement’s Arsal official told The Daily Star that militants are patrolling the town, stressing that “the situation is now beyond the people of Arsal’s will.” He also said that campaigns were being carried against his party by the extremist groups inside the town.
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The Nusra Front’s YouTube channel posted a video allegedly showing members of the Internal Security Forces announcing their defection “from the Lebanese Army and Hezbollah.”
The clashes in Arsal also sparked tensions in the northern city of Tripoli , where gunmen attacked Army posts and Army vehicles in the city, wounding two soldiers.
The Army had released a statement Saturday, accusing the armed groups launching the attacks of implementing a plan against Lebanon.
“What happened today is the most dangerous incident Lebanon and the Lebanese have ever faced, because it’s made clear that there is someone planning and preparing to attack Lebanon as well as planning to sabotage the Lebanese Army and the residents of Arsal,” the statement said.
Le chef de l’armée Jean Kahwaji vient de terminer une conférence de presse où il affirme que l’arrestation du membre de al-Nusra n’était pas la cause des débordements, mais n’avait fait que les précipiter, l’arrestation en question ayant été motivée par la connaissance préalable qu’al Qaïda (ISIS et Nosra) préparait une vaste offensive au Liban.
