A military source confirmed to Enab Baladi that there are no Syrian or Lebanese military forces inside the border village of Housh al-Sayyid Ali with Lebanon, which has witnessed clashes in recent days between the Syrian side and the Lebanese Hezbollah.

Colonel Abdul Moneim al-Dhaher from the Ministry of Defense in the interim government of Damascus stated that the liaison officer in the Syrian army coordinated and communicated with his Lebanese counterpart to withdraw both parties from the border village of Housh al-Sayyid Ali.

The colonel added in a statement to Enab Baladi on Wednesday, March 19, that the Syrian and Lebanese sides agreed to ensure the return of civilians to the village without any military presence in the city, while remaining stationed outside the borders of Housh al-Sayyid Ali.

Al-Dhaher confirmed that the Syrian army is committed to implementing the agreement, stressing that any violation by Hezbollah will be met with a firm response without warning, as he expressed.

The colonel’s statements came in response to inquiries regarding the announcement of the Lebanese army’s entry into the village of Housh al-Sayyid Ali and the coordination mechanism between them.

Earlier today, the Lebanese army announced its entry into Housh al-Sayyid Ali and the implementation of security measures in coordination with the Syrian authorities.

According to a statement from the Lebanese army, the measures included conducting patrols to maintain security and stability in the border region, and announced the closure of illegal crossings in the Baalbek-Hermel regions bordering Syria.

The village of Housh al-Sayyid Ali and the surrounding villages are mixed and intertwined across the Syrian-Lebanese borders, inhabited by a mixture of Syrians and Lebanese.

On March 16, the village witnessed clashes between the Syrian army and groups that the Syrian Ministry of Defense stated were affiliated with Hezbollah.

The clashes occurred following the kidnapping of three elements from the Ministry of Defense and their execution in the field, which prompted the Syrian government to mobilize, subsequently leading to control over the village and the expulsion of Hezbollah militants from it.

On the other hand, the Lebanese narrative differed from the Syrian one regarding the killing of the Syrian soldiers, as the Lebanese army stated that after two Syrians were killed and another injured at the Lebanese-Syrian border in the vicinity of the al-Qasr-Hermel area, the injured was transferred to a hospital for treatment but soon passed away.

The Lebanese army added at the time that it subsequently executed “extraordinary security measures and conducted intensive communications,” resulting in the transfer of the three corpses to Syria.

For its part, Hezbollah denied any connection to the events on the Syrian-Lebanese border.

Clashes renewed the following day, leading to the Syrian and Lebanese armies reaching a ceasefire agreement and enhancing coordination and cooperation between them, according to the official Syrian news agency (SANA).