Lebanese Army surrounds Islamist-controlled town of Arsal

The Lebanese Army has surrounded the town of Arsal, on the Syrian border, in an effort to expel radical Islamist fighters that have overrun it.

Reuters reports the Islamist fighters are made up of members of both the Islamic State, and the al-Qaida-affiliated Nusra Front.

Arsal fell to Islamist forces Saturday, August 2. The Lebanese newspaper The Daily Star says that 38 members of the security forces are missing, most likely held captive by the Islamists. Among those missing are 22 soldiers and 19 police officers. The Islamists released three members of the police August 5, in an effort open up negotiations with the Lebanese government.

That resulted in a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire. The ceasefire, which came into effect at 7 p.m. local time August 5, fell apart early August 6. The Daily Star reports that efforts to negotiate the release of the Lebanese security officials and a full Islamist withdrawal from Arsal are currently underway.

Should those talks fail, the thousands of Syrian refugees in Arsal will have to flee violence once again. Reuters says that Saudi Arabia has pledged $1 billion in emergency aid to the Lebanese Army to bolster its effort against the Islamist fighters.

While the Lebanese military has surrounded Arsal, Reuters says that a small corridor back into Syria has been left open so that fighters who wish to retreat may do so.

The Daily Star says that so far, 17 soldiers, 50 militants, and 12 civilians have been killed in the fighting. Reuters put the number of dead much higher, at 36. Of those casualties 26 were said to be Syrian refugees who surely hoped that Arsal would offer them a respite from the violence.

The assault on Arsal is most direct effect yet of the Syrian Civil War in Lebanon, which had suffered through occasional car bombings and shootings since the outbreak of the Syrian conflict in 2011.