Western diplomatic sources and Lebanese security sources have told The National that the truce agreed between Lebanon's Defence Minister Michel Menassa and Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra might be short-lived if a long-lasting solution at the Syrian-Lebanese border is not found.
It comes after the two countries agreed a ceasefire after two days of clashes between Syrian and Lebanese forces and local Lebanese armed groups along the border, in which at least nine people have died since Sunday. The dead included eight Syrian soldiers and a 15-year-old Lebanese boy who was killed in Syrian bombing in the border village of Qasr.
The defence ministries said they had agreed on continuing contact between their army intelligence directorates to prevent more deterioration on the border. "Despite the ceasefire and high-level diplomatic negotiations, the underlying issues remain unresolved, leaving the door open for renewed conflict at the Lebanon-Syria border," a Western diplomatic source told The National, adding that the international community is aware that the northern border remains a pressing challenge.
A Lebanese security source said: "There is a truce. It doesn't mean that clashes won't erupt again. But for now, a truce has been reached".
Syria’s new government, led by the Hayat Tahrir Al Sham (HTS) group – which had links to Al Qaeda and Al Nusra Front – has vowed to crack down on Hezbollah-linked smugglers in a bid to secure the border with Lebanon. The move has severed Hezbollah's traditional smuggling routes, and sparked fighting with local tribes involved in the business.
The clashes on the boundary between the Syrian governorate of Homs and the province of Hermel, in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, began with the killing of four members of the new Syrian defence troops in a border ambush on Sunday, sources told The National. Hermel is a Hezbollah stronghold in the Bekaa Valley, where clans involved in illicit activity operate.
The escalation has marred recent efforts by the two governments to improve relations since the fall of former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad. The clashes pit troops led by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham against fighters aligned with Hezbollah, as well as the Lebanese army, who the authorities in Beirut say has been instructed to respond. HTS, a group formerly linked with Al Qaeda, took power in Damascus after the 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.
The ceasefire deal announced late on Monday stipulates “enhanced co-ordination and co-operation between the two sides”, according to the Syrian Ministry of Defence.
Earlier on Monday Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun said on X that he had asked Lebanon's foreign minister, who was in Brussels for a donors conference on Syria, to contact Syrian officials to resolve the problem “and prevent further escalation”.
“What is happening along the eastern and north-eastern border cannot continue and we will not accept that it continues,” he said. But he also said that “I have given my orders to the Lebanese army to retaliate against the source of fire”.
Hussein Al Hajj Hassan, a member of Hezbollah and a Lebanese MP, accused fighters from the Syrian side of crossing into Lebanese territory and attacking border villages. His constituency is the north-eastern Baalbek-Hermel province, which has borne the brunt of the clashes. He said Hezbollah “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 Lebanon's civil war in 1990.
Hezbollah and other Shiite militias provided support for Mr Al Assad, which enabled him to crush a 2011 protest against his rule and survive the ensuing Syrian civil war until he was deposed last year.
Since the downfall of Mr Al Assad, troops with the new order under HTS have clashed with Hezbollah several times at the border, with the authorities in Damascus saying some smuggling rings Hezbollah used to supply weapons from Iran still operate in the area.
Match info
Manchester United 1
Fred (18')
Wolves 1
Moutinho (53')
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
All Black 39-12 British & Irish Lions
The Vile
Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah
Director: Majid Al Ansari
Rating: 4/5
What is Reform?
Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.
It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.
Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.
After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.
Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.
The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.
Juventus v Napoli, Sunday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Match on Bein Sports
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The%20specs
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Biog
Mr Kandhari is legally authorised to conduct marriages in the gurdwara
He has officiated weddings of Sikhs and people of different faiths from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Russia, the US and Canada
Father of two sons, grandfather of six
Plays golf once a week
Enjoys trying new holiday destinations with his wife and family
Walks for an hour every morning
Completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Loyola College, Chennai, India
2019 is a milestone because he completes 50 years in business
Series information
Pakistan v Dubai
First Test, Dubai International Stadium
Sun Oct 6 to Thu Oct 11
Second Test, Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tue Oct 16 to Sat Oct 20
Play starts at 10am each day
Teams
Pakistan
1 Mohammed Hafeez, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Azhar Ali, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Babar Azam, 7 Sarfraz Ahmed, 8 Bilal Asif, 9 Yasir Shah, 10, Mohammed Abbas, 11 Wahab Riaz or Mir Hamza
Australia
1 Usman Khawaja, 2 Aaron Finch, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Mitchell Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Marnus Labuschagne, 7 Tim Paine, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Peter Siddle, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Jon Holland
Studying addiction
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
%3Cp%3E%0DElena%20Rybakina%20(Kazakhstan)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EOns%20Jabeur%20(Tunisia)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EMaria%20Sakkari%20(Greece)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EBarbora%20Krej%C4%8D%C3%ADkov%C3%A1%20(Czech%20Republic)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EBeatriz%20Haddad%20Maia%20(Brazil)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EJe%C4%BCena%20Ostapenko%20(Latvia)%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3ELiudmila%20Samsonova%20%20%0D%3Cbr%3EDaria%20Kasatkina%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EVeronika%20Kudermetova%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3ECaroline%20Garcia%20(France)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EMagda%20Linette%20(Poland)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3ESorana%20C%C3%AErstea%20(Romania)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EAnastasia%20Potapova%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EAnhelina%20Kalinina%20(Ukraine)%E2%80%AF%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EJasmine%20Paolini%20(Italy)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Navarro%20(USA)%E2%80%AF%20%0D%3Cbr%3ELesia%20Tsurenko%20(Ukraine)%3Cbr%3ENaomi%20Osaka%20(Japan)%20-%20wildcard%3Cbr%3EEmma%20Raducanu%20(Great%20Britain)%20-%20wildcard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
Zed Books
Silent Hill f
Publisher: Konami
Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Rating: 4.5/5
