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How will the Lebanese military deal with Arsal?

The battle in Arsal posed a major challenge to the Lebanese army while the people there waited for a military settlement.
A Syrian refugee girl sits on cement blocks amid damage and burnt tents from the fighting between Lebanese army soldiers and Islamist militants in the Sunni Muslim border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley August 7, 2014. Militant Islamists have mostly withdrawn from the Lebanese border town of Arsal, which they seized at the weekend, taking with them captive Lebanese soldiers, militant and security sources said on Thursday, as a truce to end the deadly battle appeared to hold. REUTERS/Hassan Abdallah (
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The Lebanese army fought an open battle in the Bekaa Valley town of Arsal. It started on Aug, 2, and so far, it is unclear how the final settlement will be; the battle is now suspended.

Arsal is a Sunni town around which open, barren land stretches 50 kilometers (30 miles). It is bordered by Syria to the east and by a number of Shiite towns, notably Labweh, to the west. Arsal, with a surface area of ​​317 square kilometers (197 square miles) and a population of about 40,000, hosts about 120,000 displaced Syrians who have taken refuge there since the outbreak of the Syrian crisis.

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