ARSAL, Lebanon: Fears that militant infighting by the unmarked border between Lebanon and Syria will spill over during the holiday season have gripped the beleaguered residents of Arsal.
Security sources meanwhile contend the northeastern border town will not likely be targeted by ISIS or the Nusra Front.
The Lebanese Army strictly monitors individuals, especially Syrian nationals, entering and leaving Arsal, reinforcing its checkpoints leading to the outskirts of Arsal, where militants are positioned across a 30 km stretch.
Arsal’s residents are concerned about the implications of infighting between ISIS and the Nusra Front, as well as the Free Syria Army in the Syrian border area of Qalamoun.
The town is already weary of tough entry and exit measures in place since August, when four days of clashes consumed Arsal.
Nusra and ISIS militants worked in tandem and overran Arsal between Aug. 2-6 until a cease-fire brokered by the Muslim Scholars Committee led militants to withdraw, taking at least 30 captive servicemen with them.
Four captives have since been executed and it is believed 25 still remain in their custody.
“We are afraid to speak about the situation around Syrian refugees because they have the power to threaten Arsal residents with kidnapping; they have ties with the militants in the outskirts,” resident Mohammed Fliti said. Militants were known to have taken refuge in Syrian refugee camps in the town prior to the clashes in August.
According to Fliti, a shop owner was threatened with kidnapping after he demanded that a Syrian refugee customer pay him for goods from his shop. He claims Arsal residents suspected of collaborating with Hezbollah have also been “summoned” by a religious court run by the militants in the outskirts.
With time on their hands and trepidation occupying their thoughts, residents trade stories about the significance of infighting in the outskirts and how it might affect them in the near future. Rumors, based only on anecdotes, have served to fuel the residents’ sense of foreboding.
One resident claimed that three officials from Raqqa, ISIS’ de facto capital in Syria, had arrived in Qalamoun, bringing with them 2,000 fighters.
Out of ISIS, Nusra and the Free Syria Army, all of whom are positioned in the outskirts, ISIS is the strongest, with the greatest access to supplies and funds.
Rumors are circulating in Arsal that ISIS will soon overtake the FSA, having given the group a deadline to pledge allegiance to their movement.
A source with the FSA in Qalamoun said that new ISIS members from Raqqa have not arrived to Qalamoun, but confirmed that vast numbers of FSA fighters were defecting to the group.
Khaled Hujeiri, an Arsal resident, said many stories were being propagated regarding when the militants might overrun the town, with some convinced the group will launch an attack during Christmas.
Others said they believe Al-Qaa or Ras Baalbek might be next, or even the Shiite village of Brital.
Residents say they are fearful because they lack confidence in the Lebanese Army’s ability to defend the town in the event of such an attack, pointing to the August clashes when militants temporarily took over warehouses and kidnapped soldiers. The militants have also evaded military artillery fire by hiding out in caves and other areas across the outskirts.
The security situation has prompted Arsalis to purchase weapons to defend themselves in the event of another attack.
A Lebanese security source agreed that ISIS was strengthening its capabilities in Qalamoun, especially areas bordering Arsal, Al-Qaa and Ras Baalbek. Another source close to Hezbollah corroborated the security source’s remarks.
But the security source said that although intelligence suggests that ISIS’ ultimate goal is to consolidate power in the Qalamoun area to connect it to Deraa and Qunaitra, in a bid to besiege Damascus, any progress made on this front would constitute a threat to Lebanon.
Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army have been preparing for ISIS’ expansionary goals to play out in Lebanon, the source said, and it will be very difficult for the militant group to successfully infiltrate the country.
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