At least five people died, including four Syrian soldiers and a 15-year-old Lebanese boy, as Syrian troops exchanged fire on Monday with Lebanese soldiers and armed groups in clashes along the border.
The teenager was killed by retaliatory Syrian bombing on the Syrian border village of Qasr, which also destroyed several homes.
The fighting on the border between the Syrian governorate of Homs and Hermel, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, was sparked by the killing of three members of the new Syrian Defence Ministry force in a border ambush on Sunday, the sources said. Hermel is a Hezbollah stronghold in the Bekaa Valley, where clans involved in illicit activity also operate.
The escalation has marred recent efforts by the two governments to improve relations since the fall of former Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad. The clashes pit fighters led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) against forces aligned with Hezbollah, as well as the Lebanese army, whom the authorities in Beirut say has been instructed to respond. HTS, a group formerly linked with Al Qaeda, took power in Damascus after fall of the Assad regime in December.
Lebanon has been among a constellation of Arab countries that have been engaged in diplomacy with the new order in Damascus, in a bid to establish new ground rules between Syria and its neighbours, after decades of volatile relations under the Iran-backed former regime.
An HTS official told The National that the four Syrian soldiers killed on Sunday were on an anti-narcotics mission in Hermel when they were apparently captured by members of one of the many drug groups in the area. A video on social media purportedly showed one of the three soldiers sitting on the ground and being struck by stones, with one hitting him in the head. The HTS official confirmed the authenticity of the footage and said another four soldiers were killed in the border clashes on Monday.
A Hezbollah source told The National that a 15-year-old Lebanese boy was killed by retaliatory Syrian bombing in the border village of Qasr that also destroyed several homes. The clashes began on Sunday when three Syrians crossed the border, the Hezbollah source said. “Lebanese villagers opened fire on them and captured them. The three men died. The villagers are defending their land and this has nothing to do with Hezbollah.”
Footage on pro-Syrian government channels purportedly showed HTS led troops firing rockets at Hezbollah positions. One Syrian tank was hit in the clashes, according to the channels.
The border clashes have prompted the Lebanese army to fire back and “respond to the sources of fire”, Lebanon's presidency said on Monday in a statement on X. It added that the clashes "cannot go on, and we will not accept its continuation". The Lebanese army said it has responded using “appropriate weapons” to the shelling of Lebanese villages and towns, coming from Syria.
Hussein Al Hajj Hassan, a member of Hezbollah and a Lebanese MP, said the group “has no relation to what happened on the border”.
The Iran-backed Hezbollah is the only non-state group allowed to carry arms in Lebanon, a legacy of previous support from Syria's former Assad regime, when it was the dominant power in Lebanon after the end of the civil war in 1990.
Hezbollah and other Shiite militias provided support for Mr Al Assad, which enabled him to crush a 2011 uprising against his rule and survive the ensuing civil war until he was deposed last year. An offensive by the Assad regime in 2020, with backing from Hezbollah and Russia, attempted to dislodge HTS from its rebel base in northern Syria but failed. Mr Al Assad's eventual toppling in December during an 11-day advance led by HTS prompted the withdrawal of Iran and its allies from Syria.
The fall of the Assad regime ended Syria's sway over Lebanese affairs, a hallmark of ties between the two countries since the late Syrian president Hafez Al Assad sent troops into Lebanon shortly after the outbreak of the 1975-1990 civil war. Lebanese Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji said this month that discussions have begun with Damascus on scrapping a joint council viewed as a control mechanism over Lebanon and on demarcating the shared border.
HTS and Hezbollah have clashed several times at the border since Mr Al Assad's downfall, with the authorities in Damascus saying some smuggling rings Hezbollah used to supply weapons from Iran still operate in the area.
However, the killing of the three four and the manner in which their lives ended have fuelled a more forceful reaction this time.
A Lebanese official said the roots of the escalation were unclear. Either fighters from the Syrian side crossed into Lebanon and were killed by local tribes, or Hezbollah fighters may have entered Syria, he said.
According to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Lebanese groups linked to HTS have the capacity to launch attacks on Hezbollah inside Lebanese territory and further escalate the situation.
Another Lebanese political source blamed HTS for the escalation, calling it a border infiltration by HTS that aims to put pressure on Hezbollah and aligns with US and Israeli goals for the disarmament of the group. "Syrian allegations that Lebanese [forces] had entered the Syrian side are completely untrue," the source said.
The Saudi-owned Al Arabiya Television said two of its reporting crew had been injured by a Hezbollah rocket while covering the clashes.
HTS has been also engaged in a campaign to spread government control over coastal areas near the border with Lebanon that constitute a reservoir of support for the Assad regime, particularly among the Alawite minority to which Mr Al Assad belongs.
At least 1,400 Alawites, the vast majority civilians, have been killed in the campaign over the past two weeks, prompting 10,000 members of the sect to cross into Lebanon, looking for safety.
They have settled in northern towns and areas. Lebanon now fears that sectarian violence from Syria’s coast could spill over into its volatile north in the adjacent Bab Al Tebbaneh and Jabal Mohsen districts of Tripoli, where Sunni and Alawite gunmen have engaged in deadly clashes several times in the past 15 years.
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The Africa Institute 101
Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction.
Breaking News: The Remaking of Journalism and Why It Matters Now
Alan Rushbridger, Canongate
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure'
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs: 2019 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
Price, base: Dh1.2 million
Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 725hp @ 6,500pm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.3L / 100km (estimate)
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group C
Liverpool v Napoli, midnight
If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
All you need to know about Formula E in Saudi Arabia
What The Saudia Ad Diriyah E-Prix
When Saturday
Where Diriyah in Saudi Arabia
What time Qualifying takes place from 11.50am UAE time through until the Super Pole session, which is due to end at 12.55pm. The race, which will last for 45 minutes, starts at 4.05pm.
Who is competing There are 22 drivers, from 11 teams, on the grid, with each vehicle run solely on electronic power.
RESULT
Esperance de Tunis 1 Guadalajara 1
(Esperance won 6-5 on penalties)
Esperance: Belaili 38’
Guadalajara: Sandoval 5’
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Results:
5pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600 metres
Winner: Dasan Da, Saeed Al Mazrooei (jockey), Helal Al Alawi (trainer)
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: AF Saabah, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Mukaram, Pat Cosgrave, Eric Lemartinel
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) | Dh80,000 | 2,200m
Winner: MH Tawag, Richard Mullen, Elise Jeanne
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) | Dh70,000 | 1,400m
Winner: RB Inferno, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
7.30pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh100,000 | 1,600m
Winner: Juthoor, Jim Crowley, Erwan Charpy
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last 16, first leg
Tottenham Hotspur v Borussia Dortmund, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
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Company profile: buybackbazaar.com
Name: buybackbazaar.com
Started: January 2018
Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech, micro finance
Initial investment: $1 million
The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
Fixtures
50-over match
UAE v Lancashire, starts at 10am
Champion County match
MCC v Surrey, four-day match, starting on Sunday, March 24, play starts at 10am
Both matches are at ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City. Admission is free.
Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
- 1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10
- 2nd ODI, Friday, April 12
- 3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14
- 4th ODI, Sunday, April 16
Squads:
- UAE: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
- Zimbabwe: Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Manchester United v Barcelona, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
Women's Prize for Fiction shortlist
The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Milkman by Anna Burns
Ordinary People by Diana Evans
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
Circe by Madeline Miller
World Cup warm up matches
May 24 Pakistan v Afghanistan, Bristol; Sri Lanka v South Africa, Cardiff
May 25 England v Australia, Southampton; India v New Zealand, The Oval
May 26 South Africa v West Indies, Bristol; Pakistan v Bangladesh, Cardiff
May 27 Australia v Sri Lanka, Southampton; England v Afghanistan, The Oval
May 28 West Indies v New Zealand, Bristol; Bangladesh v India, Cardiff
RESULT
Fifth ODI, at Headingley
England 351/9
Pakistan 297
England win by 54 runs (win series 4-0)
What is the definition of an SME?
SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.
A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
Name: Brendalle Belaza
From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines
Arrived in the UAE: 2007
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus
Favourite photography style: Street photography
Favourite book: Harry Potter
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
DMZ facts
- The DMZ was created as a buffer after the 1950-53 Korean War.
- It runs 248 kilometers across the Korean Peninsula and is 4km wide.
- The zone is jointly overseen by the US-led United Nations Command and North Korea.
- It is littered with an estimated 2 million mines, tank traps, razor wire fences and guard posts.
- Donald Trump and Kim Jong-Un met at a building in Panmunjom, where an armistice was signed to stop the Korean War.
- Panmunjom is 52km north of the Korean capital Seoul and 147km south of Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital.
- Former US president Bill Clinton visited Panmunjom in 1993, while Ronald Reagan visited the DMZ in 1983, George W. Bush in 2002 and Barack Obama visited a nearby military camp in 2012.
- Mr Trump planned to visit in November 2017, but heavy fog that prevented his helicopter from landing.
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
Our legal advisor
Ahmad El Sayed is Senior Associate at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in the UK, Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Commercial litigator who has assisted clients with overseas judgments before UAE courts. His specialties are cases related to banking, real estate, shareholder disputes, company liquidations and criminal matters as well as employment related litigation.
Education: Sagesse University, Beirut, Lebanon, in 2005.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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