Lebanese–Syrian border clashes

Lebanese–Syrian border clashes are violent incidents to have taken place on the border of Syria and Lebanon during the Syrian civil war.

2012
At the beginning of the summer 2012, two Hezbollah fighters were killed in a clash with Syrian rebels who were on Lebanese territory.

On 17 September, Syrian Ground-attack aircraft fired three missiles 500 m over the border into Lebanese territory near Arsal. It was suggested that the jets were chasing rebels in the vicinity. The attack prompted Lebanese president Michel Sleiman to launch an investigation, whilst not publicly blaming Syria for the incident.

On 22 September, a group of armed members of the Free Syrian Army attacked a border post near Arsal. This was reported to be the second incursion within a week. The group were chased off into the hills by the Lebanese Army, who detained and later released some rebels due to pressure from dignified locals. Michel Sleiman praised the actions taken by the military as maintaining Lebanon's position being “neutral from the conflicts of others". He called on border residents to “stand beside their army and assist its members.” Syria has repeatedly called for an intensified crackdown on rebels that it claims are hiding in Lebanese border towns.

On 11 October 2012, four shells fired by the Syrian military hit Masharih al-Qaa, where previous shelling incidents have caused fatalities. Lebanon's position of ignoring the attacks and dissociating itself from the conflict remained unchanged.

On 30 November 2012, between 14 and 20 Islamists from North Lebanon, as well a Palestinian, were killed in an ambush in Tall Kalakh near the Lebanese border. They had gone to Syria to fight alongside the Syrian rebels.

2013
On 1 February 2013, two Lebanese soldiers were killed, along with 1-2 militants, and six were wounded in clashes near the Syrian border which started after an attempt by the military to arrest an anti-Assad rebel commander, who was also killed.

Three Lebanese soldiers were killed in an attack on their checkpoint near the border town of Arsal by unknown militants who than fled over the border into Syria.

In the night of 2 June 2013, heavy clashes between Syrian rebels and Hezbollah took place near the Lebanese town of Ain el-Jaouze, which is close to the border area between Lebanon and Syria. The rebels were ether members of the radical Al-Nusra Front or of the Free Syrian Army. Hezbollah fighters attacked a rebel rocket team which was reportedly preparing to fire rockets into Shi'ite areas of the Lebanese Beqaa Valley. 14–17 rebels and one Hezbollah fighter were killed. The rebels said the attack was in retaliation for Hezbollah's support for the Syrian Army at the battle of al-Qusayr.

On 6 June 2013, unknown gunmen attacked a Lebanese Army checkpoint in Arsal, near the border. In the ensuing gunfight two of the gunmen were killed. The Army captured a pick-up truck that contained weapons and ammunition. After examining the bodies, it was determined that at least one of the dead gunmen was a Syrian national. The nationality of the other dead man was not stated.

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 * In October 2012, Hassan Nasrallah denied Hezbollah members were fighting alongside the Syrian army, but that Lebanese in Syria were only protecting Lebanese inhabited villages from the Free Syrian Army.