The Lebanese Hezbollah withdraws more of its forces from the Syrian territory towards mountains on the Syrian – Lebanese border
Reliable sources told the Syrian Observatory that the Lebanese Hezbollah in the past hours and days deployed its forces within new areas in the Western Qalamoun in the Rif Dimashq Province, where these forces were withdrawn from several areas in which Hezbollah is located inside Syrian territory; towards new locations in the Western Qalamoun, also Hezbollah transported fighters with heavy weapons of short and long range missiles and heavy machine guns, where Hezbollah took new points in the hillside area overlooking Flita town, and set up barricades and wooden rooms at those points, also it hid its weapons and cars in the caves and trenches already dug in mountainous areas there, the same sources added to the Syrian Observatory that Hezbollah acquired a full residential building next to Dirar Mosque in al-Qa’aa neighborhood in Yabroud city and raised its flags on it, while in Qara area; Hezbollah controlled houses in the neighborhoods of al-Karb, al-Mashfa, and the Municipal Stadium, and took them as military headquarters, in addition to establishing a headquarters in al-Baydar area at the western part of Qara, which now contains heavy and medium machinery and weapons inside it.
The Syrian Observatory published on the 5th of July 2019 that Lebanese Hezbollah positioned in the Western Qalamoun in Rif Dimashq continues to prevent the residents of al-Jobeh town of Assal al-Ward area from returning to their homes, where Hezbollah has been controlling it since 2013, despite the repeated attempts by the people to reach an agreement allowing them to live there, where militias of Hezbollah imposed a tight security cordon at the entrances and exits of the town, they also established a security checkpoint at the main entrance known as the “al-Qaws Checkpoint” and issued a decision not to go out or in without a security clearance issued by the command of its forces in the area, members of Hezbollah also controlled tens of houses in various parts of the town, particularly, the Market Street in the middle of the town which is considered to be the largest area of position in the town, taking of it military headquarters and housing for families of the members they bring from Lebanon, and Hezbollah refused to leave the houses despite repeated attempts by tens of the original families of the town in the past 5 years, arguing that a member of these families belongs to the opposition factions.
Local sources from the area confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that Hezbollah takes the barren mountains of al-Jobeh as its main position points and deployment in the Western al-Qalamoun, and uses its natural caves as warehouses for its weapons, noting that Hezbollah has set up several camps there to train the newly affiliated members of Syrian and Lebanese nationalities, the sources added that the members planted mines on the dirt rough roads between al-Jobeh town and its barren mountains , and in the vicinity of its new camps, in addition to establishing a prison to put detainees of the area in it, of those whose cases are related to Hezbollah itself. This interest by Hezbollah in this area comes from its rugged and difficult barren mountains for the heavy machinery, as well as its proximity to the Syrian – Lebanese border, which facilitates the movement of its members and shipments through illegal crossings it takes as main roads.
The Syrian Observatory published on the 30th of June 2019 that the Syrian Observatory learned from several reliable sources that militias of the Lebanese Hezbollah abruptly over the past week withdrew from some of their positions in Qara town of the Western Qalamoun north of the capital Damascus, where groups of Hezbollah withdrew from al-Karab neighborhood which has been controlled by Hezbollah since late November 2013, after violent clashes back then ended with the regime forces supported by Hezbollah controlling Qara town; after the factions withdrew to the outskirts of the barren mountains of Qara, also other groups of Hezbollah withdrew from neighborhoods of the Municipal stadium, al-Baydar, and the western neighborhood of the town, the sources added to the Syrian Observatory that the withdrawals included the withdraw of all military checkpoints of Hezbollah on the road between Qara and its barren mountains, in addition to withdrawing from the hospital area and evacuating all its military headquarters and depots of weapons and ammunition, also groups of Syrian nationality of the Lebanese Hezbollah have withdrawn directly, after which regime’s national Defense forces deployed to all sites from which Hezbollah has withdrawn.
Local sources reported to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that the withdrawal process some of which took place toward Zabadani area west of Rif Dimashq, which has several military headquarters of Hezbollah, where the regime forces with the support of the Lebanese Hezbollah entered the city in April 2017, following an agreement between the military factions and the regime forces end with displacing the factions and their families to the Syrian north, and the sources added that the Lebanese Hezbollah is still positioned in a military barracks it established years ago after entering the area and it is located west of Qara.