BEIRUT: Lebanon's northeastern border town of Arsal is not under siege, and residents can move freely back and forth without any obstructions, a report citing an Army official said Thursday.
Daily newspaper Al-Joumhouria quoted a military source as saying that all roads leading to the town, which had witnessed fierce battles between the Army and jihadi militants from Syria four months ago, are open and “constantly patrolled by Army troops to ensure the security of residents and prevent any harm to which they might be exposed.”
The sources stressed that the Army has merely blocked the mountain paths to the town’s outskirts, which might be used by jihadi gunmen holed up in the rugged mountainous area on the porous border with Syria.
“No road linking Arsal with the Bekaa was closed and Arsal’s residents can exist and enter the town freely,” the source said.
The source blamed occasional threats made against Arsal and its people on the tribal mentality prevailing in the region and the sectarian tensions exacerbated by the raging war in Syria.
“The Army will always work on easing tensions in the area and will not allow having any Lebanese town under siege, or starting a war between villages,” the source said.
Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri charged Wednesday that a siege was imposed on Arsal by relatives and supporters of policeman Ali Bazzal, who was killed last week by Nusra Front militants during his captivity.
He said the government should also work towards defusing tensions between rival towns, in reference to the predominately Sunni Arsal and the mostly Shiite nearby villages of Labweh and Bazzalieh.
Masked gunmen, suspected to be relatives of the ill-fated policeman, have set up road blocks and checkpoints on the roads leading from Labweh and Bazzalieh to Arsal since the killing to prevent Arsal residents from leaving.
The Bazzal family announced its measures during a news conference Saturday, describing Syrians living in Arsal as “a bunch of terrorists, takfiris and not refugees."
The Lebanese Army has beefed up its presence on the outskirts of Arsal, where militants from ISIS and Nusra Front are still holding 25 servicemen hostage since abducting them during a five-day battle with the Army in August.
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