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Lebanese Army Takes Control of Arsal Outskirts

Lebanese Army Takes Control of Arsal Outskirts
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The long-delayed departure of a Free Syrian Army-affiliated group from the northeastern town of Arsal was finally completed Monday afternoon as buses carrying the militants and refugees crossed the border.

Lebanese Army Takes Control of Arsal Outskirts

As the deal was concluded, the Lebanese Army moved to assume positions on the now-liberated outskirts of Arsal, in anticipation of an offensive against the Wahhabi Daesh [Arabic acronym for "ISIS" / "ISIL"] militants there.

A convoy of 34 buses carrying over a thousand Saraya Ahl al-Sham militants and their families left Arsal's outskirts Monday morning and arrived in Syria's Flita midafternoon. At around 9 p.m., the convoy left Flita for the Syrian town of Al-Ruhaibeh in eastern Qalamoun, Hezbollah War Media Center said.

A security source said that 1,800 people left the outskirts, including around 350 militants and 1,450 people - mostly family members. The source said that a number of other Syrian refugees who had volunteered to leave with the militants changed their minds and were now looking to return to Assal al-Ward in Syria's western Qalamoun.

A source on the field said that some among those who left Monday had left for Assal al-Ward.

"Those who want to leave for Assal al-Ward are allowed to go there. It is an area that falls under [a] reconciliation [deal within Syria]," the source said.

As the convoy was making its way toward Flita, it was forced to stop due to a mechanical problem with one of the buses. The journey resumed as planned after the issue was fixed.

Lebanon's General Security announced in a statement earlier in the day that the convoy started moving at 11:50 a.m.

"Thirty-four buses carrying hundreds of Saraya Ahl al-Sham fighters and their families left for Syrian territory accompanied by General Security patrols in coordination with the Red Cross," the statement said, adding that the patrols accompanied the convoys until they reached the Syrian border.

"The concerned authorities in Syria will handle [the convoy's] arrival in al-Ruhaibeh," the General Security statement said.

"[We can] ensure that the repatriation of militants that occupied a part of the Lebanese territories on Arsal's outskirts [will be accomplished], after the Directorate [General of General Security] negotiated with those concerned."

General Security, which led negotiations for Monday's transfer, said all of the Syrian nationals returning to Syria were doing so voluntarily.

The WMC reported on its official Twitter account that 14 Lebanese Red Cross vehicles also accompanied the convoy to Flita.

It later reported that "the Syrian Arab Red Crescent arrived in Syria's Flita in order to receive six wounded [Syrian nationals] from the ... [Lebanese] Red Cross."

Buses had arrived on the outskirts of Arsal Sunday evening. The militants were allowed to leave with their "light weapons" - assault rifles and handguns - but were forced to leave behind heavy arms.

The already-delayed deal to repatriate the militants and Syrian refugees was initially scheduled for Saturday but faced additional "logistical" hurdles over the weekend.

An agreement stipulating the militants' return was made after Saraya Ahl al-Sham withdrew their insurgents on the second day of Hezbollah's major July offensive against militants along the border between Lebanon and Syria.

Militants belonging to the Nusra Front departed from Lebanese territory at the beginning of August, in the third phase of a separate cease-fire agreement struck between Hezbollah and the Takfiri group.

The deal concluded Hezbollah's weeklong offensive against in Lebanon's northeastern border region.

Monday's convoy followed a similar exit route to that taken earlier this month by buses carrying Nusra militants and Syrian refugees.

The UN refugee agency estimates that there are just over 1 million Syrian refugees currently in Lebanon, but the government said the total number in the country is significantly higher.

Hezbollah called for the Lebanese government to engage directly with Damascus over the return of refugees to Syria.

Saraya Ahl al-Sham's repatriation Monday closed a deadly three-year-long armed occupation near the Lebanese border town, security sources said.

The pullout will mark the countdown for the Lebanese Army's campaign to dislodge the Wahhabi Daesh militants from another enclave further north.

In the first such move since 2014, the Army deployed Monday to areas on the outskirts of Arsal after the Takfiri militants left.

The Army announced in a statement that its units had deployed in Wadi Hamid, al-Malahi and the highlands surrounding these areas.

"This is a continuation of the operation aimed to tighten the noose and restrain the groups belonging to Daesh on the outskirts of Ras Baalbek and al-Qaa," the Army statement read. "These positions were with Hezbollah after the offensive and we moved in today and there are additional positions that will be handed over to us that would serve the battle [against Daesh]," a senior military source said.

The Lebanese Army has been shelling Daesh positions as it prepares to launch the offensive against the militants. Syrian warplanes had also bombarded the militants' positions from the Syrian side of the border.

Hezbollah War Media Center reported that Syrian army warplanes targeted Daesh positions in the Zamarani, Martabeyeh, Faikha, Mira, the Harf al-Hashishat highland and al-Bouhdaij on the outskirts of Qara and al-Jarajir in western Qalamoun.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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