The Syrian army reinforced its presence along the borders with Lebanon and Iraq on Wednesday, both of which have been dragged into the regional war with Iran.
A Syrian government source told AFP that the Syrian army had sent reinforcements to the border with Lebanon.
"Syrian military forces are heading toward the Lebanese-Syrian border near Homs province," which borders a predominantly Shiite area of Lebanon with a strong Hezbollah presence, the source reported.
The Syrian army's operations command also said that "the army has reinforced its deployment along Syria’s borders with Lebanon and Iraq," in a message carried by state media.
It specified that this measure aims to "protect and contain" the situation at the borders in the face of the "escalation of the ongoing regional war".
Lebanon was dragged into the regional war on Monday when the pro-Iran Hezbollah group launched an attack on Israel, saying it wanted to "avenge" the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes.
That sparked an immediate response from Israel, which has launched strikes across Lebanon, including the capital, Beirut.
Hezbollah provided military support to the former Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad, which was overthrown in December 2024 by an Islamist coalition hostile to the pro-Iranian movement.
Since then, its supply routes from Syria have been cut off, and Lebanese and Syrian authorities have been trying to combat smuggling across the porous border between the two countries.
AFP
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