Lebanon's Hizbullah said Friday (July 21st) its fighters had begun an operation against militants on both sides of the country's border with Syria, AFP reported.
Hizbullah media outlets announced "the start of a military operation to purge Jurud Arsal and Qalamun of armed terrorists”.
Jurud Arsal is a mountainous area around the Lebanese border town of Arsal, which lies directly across from the Syrian Qalamun region.
Hizbullah media said the operation had been launched on two axes -- from the Syrian town of Flita and from the southern part of Jurud Arsal.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Saad Hariri said "the Lebanese army would conduct a planned-out operation in Jurud Arsal and the government gives it freedom (to do so)".
But there was no official announcement from the military on whether Lebanese troops were taking part in the fighting.
Interior Minister Nohad al-Mashnouq on Friday presided over an extraordinary meeting of the Central Domestic Security Council, Lebanese media reported.
According to the National News Agency, the meeting was dedicated to "following up on the situation in the Arsal outskirts region and the possible repercussions on the Lebanese interior, as well as the measures that should be taken to protect civilians".
Meanwhile, Lebanese MP Assem Araji stressed on Friday that the Lebanese army is the only party authorised to defend the country's border.
Araji also voiced fears that the fighting could trigger a "new wave of displacements into the central Bekaa Valley".
