In a series of clashes that lasted 72 hours, the Lebanese army succeeded in deterring the Jabhat al-Nusra attack on the Syrian border in Ras Baalbek, northeast of Lebanon. But the battles did not end there, and worrying signs are weighing on the Lebanese army and Lebanon.
The latest battle broke out at dawn Jan. 22. A military source revealed to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity that the army units, which were positioned in Tallet al-Hamra facing the Syrian border between Arsal and Ras Baalbek, were waiting for the snow that had hit the region two weeks earlier to subside. With the snow melting, the soldiers expected Jabhat al-Nusra to surprise them at the front lines, mainly Tallet al-Hamra hill. The army was getting ready to connect the hill to other neighboring spots by bringing in dredges and paving field roads to facilitate its movement and communication and allow it to increase surveillance on the surrounding lands.
