'They attacked from all sides': How Lebanon's Bekaa valley became conflict flashpoint with Syria

A stream running between two lands, easily crossed. This is how the border with Syria is marked in Hosh Al Sayyed Ali, a remote town in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa valley.

In the past, the frontier was porous, allowing all kinds of smuggling between the two countries. But since the fall of the Assad regime in December, the river has become a trench dividing two worlds.

On one side lies the new Syria, led by Sunni Islamists who toppled Bashar Al Assad’s regime. A few metres away, across the stream, are Lebanese Shiite tribes affiliated with Hezbollah, a longtime ally of the Assad regime and a sworn enemy of Syria’s new rulers.

These worlds were bound to collide.

In March, clashes along the Lebanese-Syrian border left seven people dead and 52 others wounded on the Lebanese side, while three Syrian soldiers were also killed.

The violence escalated dramatically when the Syrian army bombed the border villages of Al Qasr and Hosh Al Sayyed Ali, prompting the Lebanese Army to respond with air strikes into Syria.

Although Lebanon and Syria reached a ceasefire agreement on March 17 after two days of deadly fighting, the situation remains precarious. The National visited Hosh Al Sayyed Ali and Al Qasr shortly after the truce, meeting with tribe members and residents to unravel the new Lebanon-Syria border reality and assess whether the fragile status quo could actually last.

Two narratives

The story behind the violence differs greatly depending on which side of the stream one stands.

According to Syrian authorities, the military operation was a retaliation against Hezbollah for the ambush and abduction of three soldiers on Syrian territory, who were then taken to Lebanon and executed.

Following the killing, the Syrian Ministry of Defence said it has started combing villages inside Syria to dismantle Hezbollah’s network.

The campaign also aligns with the new Syrian leadership’s stated commitment to cracking down on illicit trade at the Lebanon-Syria frontier, an area which was described by a Syrian commander to The National as a “hub” for smuggling, the hashish trade and weapons storage – including Hezbollah arms depots – with tunnels running from Syria into Lebanon.

Illicit businesses are said to be orchestrated by influential Lebanese clans on behalf of Hezbollah, who hold sway in border towns and have a certain autonomy.

On the Lebanese side, tribe members tell a different story. “On March 17, the Syrian Ministry of Defence said they would search houses on the Syrian side of the border and had no intention of crossing into Lebanon,” said Ali Hajj Hassan, a tribe member who lost his 45-year-old son in the fighting in Hosh Al Sayyed Ali.

“We told them we had no problem welcoming and respecting the new Syrian state. But then, they attacked the village from all sides. We were shocked to see tanks and gunmen crossing the border, and the fighting broke out. We were only defending our homes and our families,” he said.

The National could not verify how the fighting began.

Hosh Al Sayyed Ali lies in ruins. The village is completely deserted, and residents no longer dare to go beyond the Lebanese Army checkpoints, located about a kilometre before the border, except for brief visits to retrieve a few belongings. Fires have blackened homes, most of which have been stripped of their furniture.

“There was a ceasefire, but it didn’t begin until they finished looting the houses they had stormed. They left nothing behind,” Mr Hajj Hassan added.

Black smoke billowed from the Syrian side: these are Lebanese-owned lands in Syria, set ablaze.

Sectarian dimension

For residents, the conflict carries a clear sectarian dimension. “Syria has every right to oppose Hezbollah and its weapons. They can even cut ties with Lebanon entirely if they choose; their government has the authority to do that,” Khaled Jafaar, a clan member and community leader, told The National.

“But these are not the real reasons behind their actions at the border. They are trying to punish an entire sect.”

The Lebanon-Syria border issue is also political and sectarian in nature, political analyst Joseph Daher told The National. “From the Syrian side, opposition to Hezbollah is framed in sectarian terms with the presence of a Salafi discourse.

“On the other hand, for the Shiites, the fall of the Assad regime and its replacement by former Sunni Jihadist groups which they fought is perceived as a deep loss.”

Although governments have changed, smuggling seems to stay. Illicit trade also includes licit goods like petrol, which sanction-hit Syria needs.

“There has always been smuggling, sometimes from Lebanon to Syria, sometimes the other way around. The dynamic shifts with the economic situation, and it’s not going to stop,” said Mr Daher.

He explained that the smuggling networks are expected to be reconfigured outside of Hezbollah’s network.

“Hezbollah, which had been the main actor in illicit trade since 2011, has now become persona non grata and lost its key business partner, Syria's Fourth Division led by Bashar Al Assad's brother, Maher. Some former players may return to power, and new interlocutors will likely emerge on the Syrian side.”

The only way to end smuggling, he added, is not through military means, the army cannot completely control the 375km of border with Lebanon and Syria, but through state-building on both sides.

The Lebanese state must provide an economic alternative in these marginalised areas by developing services to replace the income generated from smuggling, he said, while the Syrian state should assert control on the myriad factions present within its forces.

Mr Jaafar, who has mediated between local tribes and the new Syrian government, expressed cautious optimism. “We want Syria to become a real state; with institutions, administrations, and authorities we can work with. This is the only way, both sides can protect their interests.”