The Lebanese army has stated it will crack down on illegal border crossings along its boundary with Syria on Thursday, as the two countries work towards addressing their porous border and the illicit networks operating across it.
Crossings in the northern Beqaa Valley are a primary focus of the army’s efforts to increase monitoring of the border region which is not clearly delineated.
Smuggling networks linked with Hezbollah have long relied on the unmonitored border region to transfer arms, goods, and cash into Lebanon, much of it originating from Iran and was facilitated by the former al-Assad regime in Syria.
The new Ahmed al-Sharaa government has increasingly sought to crack down on this illicit traffic and solidify the Lebanon-Syria frontier. Last week, the Syrian Ministry of the Interior dismantled terrorist cells in the Rif Dimashq Governorate and captured drones and military hardware allegedly linked to Hezbollah.
Earlier this week, Syria banned foreign trucks from entering the country, straining Lebanon’s transport sector and sparking protests on the Lebanese side. On Thursday, Lebanese and Syrian officials met and reached an agreement to reverse the truck ban for a week and create a transitional transport regulatory mechanism based on reciprocal treatment.
Lebanon’s stepped-up military presence near crossing points, alongside Syria’s increasing attention paid towards border security and illicit networks, signals growing momentum for both countries to more precisely demarcate and monitor their borders as both states seek to consolidate sovereignty over their respective territories.
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