Nusra Militants Exit Lebanon to Syria under Hezbollah Exchange Deal

Local Editor

Buses carrying about 7,800 militants and other members left Lebanon's highlands of Arsal for Syria under a mediated exchange deal between Hezbollah and terrorists operating in the region.

The buses headed to the Syrian town of Flita on Wednesday under the supervision of the Lebanese General Security and the army as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The transfer was made possible under the truce agreement struck last week between Hezbollah and the terrorist Nusra Front, currently being referred to as Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, which included the release of resistance prisoners and the transfer of Syria militants back home.

Nusra ringleader Abu Malek al-Talli was among those sent to Syria on Wednesday, the report added.

The buses arrived in Arsal on Monday and Tuesday, but the transfer was delayed as Beirut dismissed the militants' demands.

The deal mediator, head of Lebanese General Security, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, said the demands included the release of prisoners held in a Lebanese jail and safe passage out of the country for some people wanted by Beirut.

"[The Nusra Front's] demands regarding the exchange agreement have been rejected by us and we consider them an obstacle. It was this which delayed the implementation of the second phase of the agreement," he added.

The first stage of the truce deal took effect on Sunday as Hezbollah returned bodies of its martyrs in exchange of Nusra members who were killed in the clashes.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Nusra Front set free three Hezbollah fighters in exchange for three of its militants.

The ceasefire came days after Hezbollah took most of Arsal in a joint offensive with the Lebanese and Syrian armies to dislodge terrorists from the border area.

Arsal was hardly hit by the spillover of the Syria crisis in 2014, when militants managed to overrun the town for a brief period.

Thousands of Syrian refugees live in informal camps in Arsal after having fled the foreign-sponsored militancy in their home country.

Hezbollah played a critical role in campaigns against militants along Lebanon's border and fought for years alongside Syrian army troops against terrorists wreaking havoc in Syria and along the Lebanese border.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team