By Nohad Topalian | 2024-04-28

BEIRUT -- Hizbullah is continuing its smuggling operations into Syria via illegal crossings along the Lebanese-Syrian border, even amid the heightened state of alert on the southern border, Lebanese citizens and Syrian activists said.

Tankers carrying Iranian fuel are still entering Lebanon from Syria, in defiance of sanctions, while food and other essential goods are being smuggled into Syria, where they are sold at exorbitant prices to finance Hizbullah's operations.

"Hizbullah's preoccupation with the southern front has not prevented it from continuing to direct organized smuggling into Syria," a Syrian activist told Al-Fassel, on condition that his name not be used.

"My family tells me that the markets in Homs have been flooded with goods smuggled from Lebanon in coordination between Syrian merchants and individuals affiliated with Hizbullah," he said.

"They are being sold at high prices," he said.

Various goods are being smuggled into Syria via illegal crossings, especially from the northern Bekaa Valley's Hermel region, Hermel resident Rabah Mahmoud told Al-Fassel.

"These materials enter aboard medium-sized trucks, and their entry is facilitated by Hizbullah and the Syrian regime," he said.

A number of crossings on the Lebanese-Syrian border are controlled by families affiliated with Hizbullah, he said.

Meanwhile, the smuggling of medicines from Syria to Lebanon "never stopped, as Syrian medicines are available in abundance," Mahmoud said.

And "we're now seeing a large wave of smuggling of Syrians into Lebanon by gangs of people smugglers," said Akkar-based activist Mohammed Abdul Karim.

Smuggling across Lebanon's northern border with Syria "has not stopped for a minute," he told Al-Fassel.

'Uncontrolled border'

"The Lebanese-Syrian border has been uncontrolled for many years," writer and political analyst George al-Akouri told Al-Fassel.

"These loose borders constitute a vital artery for Hizbullah's weapons and fighters, smuggling of all kinds, as well as safe passage for gangs involved in robbery and murder," he said.

A strong sign that Hizbullah controls border crossings with Syria is Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah's repeated rejection of demands that international forces be deployed on the Syria border to help the Lebanese army control it, he said.

Al-Akouri stressed the need to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1680, which strongly encourages the government of Syria to respond to Lebanon's request to demarcate the two countries' borders.

"Without the demarcation and control of the borders, smuggling of all kinds will continue," he cautioned.