BEIRUT: A Syrian-Lebanese man was killed Tuesday and another arrested when Syrian troops crossed over the border into the Bekaa in an operation to find opposition figures, a security source told The Daily Star. Conflicting reports remain over the exact circumstances of the incident.
While one source said Adel Ahmad Abu Jabal was killed by Syrian troops inside Lebanese territory, another source said Abu Jabal was shot dead in an exchange of fire on Syrian soil. The brother of the victim, Ammar Yati Abu Jabal, was said to have been arrested by Syrian forces.
The security source who said Syrian troops shot Abu Jabal on the Lebanese side of the border added that the Syrian troops had been gathered since the early hours of the morning in the area around the Baalbek-Homs highway.
The troops then entered the village of Masharih al-Qaa in a security operation about 300 meters inside Lebanese territory, before pulling out later in the day, the source said. Syrian troops have made several incursions into the Bekaa town of Arsal since the beginning of October. Later Tuesday, security sources reported fighting between the Syrian military and armed groups near the border area of Deir al-Ashayer.
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