As the delegations of the Syrian regime and the opposition prepare to return to Geneva on Feb. 10 to negotiate a settlement to the conflict in Syria, the fighters of both sides are preparing for a new military confrontation north of Damascus, specifically in and around the city of Yabrud, the capital of the Qalamoun region.

Information from both Lebanese and Syrian sources indicates clear field preparations in the Yabrud area. Both official and nonofficial Lebanese parties are concerned with the impending battle because of its proximity to the eastern Lebanese border with Syria and believe it is possible that clashes will break out with the start of the second negotiating round of Geneva II, as part of the game of messages between the internal and regional parties to the conflict.

Yabrud is the most prominent stronghold of opposition gunmen in Qalamoun. Since June 5, when Qusair, a town in the Homs countryside, fell into the hands of regime forces and Hezbollah guerrillas, Yabrud has become a refuge for opposition gunmen who fled from the north.

Yabrud then became a haven for gunmen fleeing the battles of east and west Ghouta last summer. According to military experts, Yabrud represents to the area stretching from Damascus to the border with Lebanon the same thing Qusair, before it fell, meant to the region of Homs and its countryside.