Lebanon seizes 200kg of explosives smuggled from Syria

Lebanon’s army said it seized about 200 kilogrammes of explosives on the border with Syria on Monday, the third such seizure this month, after Prime Minister Nawaf Salam vowed to deal firmly with illegal weapons.

Soldiers in the northeastern Hermel region “seized around 200 kilogrammes of explosive material packed in bags and ready for smuggling from Syrian territory” into Lebanon, the army said, adding that the smugglers fled back into Syria, Dawn reported, citing AFP. A judicial official said the C4 explosives were being smuggled “on a mule through an illegal crossing in the town of Qasr”.

Half a tonne on the road to Beirut

The seizure came days after authorities detained two suspected Hezbollah members at a checkpoint in Dahr al-Baidar as they headed to Beirut. A judicial official said they were carrying half a tonne of explosives, 250 kilogrammes of TNT and 250 kilogrammes of C4, on a road linking Syria to the capital.

Salam confirmed on X that “a truck was stopped” in Dahr al-Baidar “carrying hundreds of kilogrammes of explosive materials” including C4.

“We will not be lenient in following up and expanding the investigation in order to identify all those involved in this criminal operation, and those behind them,” he said. “We will deal with weapons outside the legal framework with the required firmness.”

Salam said he understood “Lebanese worries” over the C4, particularly as it “has been used in a number of political assassinations” in the country’s history.

Three seizures this month

• Early October: the army seized about 245kg of TNT, four explosive devices, eight detonators and wiring being smuggled from Syria
• Dahr al-Baidar: half a tonne of TNT and C4 found on two suspected Hezbollah members
• Hermel, Monday: about 200kg of C4 carried by mule through an illegal crossing

Lebanon and Syria share a porous 330-kilometre border.

Hezbollah’s weakened position

Hezbollah was until recently the most powerful political and military force in Lebanon, backed by Iran and by Syria’s former ruler Bashar al-Assad. A UN-backed court in 2020 sentenced a fugitive Hezbollah member for the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafic Hariri.

Lebanese authorities committed last year to disarming the group, after hostilities with Israel that began in 2023 turned into all-out war in 2024 and decimated its leadership. Assad’s fall in 2024 also cut Hezbollah’s main weapons supply line from Iran. This year, Hezbollah’s rocket fire at Israel drew Lebanon into the Middle East war, and Israel responded with airstrikes and a ground invasion.

EU mission to train Lebanon’s forces

The European Union on Monday set up a mission to help train Lebanon’s cash-strapped armed forces, as the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon nears its end. The EU insists its mission is not a replacement.

“It will advise and assist the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces to strengthen territorial control, border security, and internal security,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said. EU officials said the mission would have up to 150 civilian and military staff.

Lebanon’s under-resourced army also faces the task of completing its deployment to south Lebanon under a US-sponsored framework agreement reached between Israel and Lebanon in June.

Why it matters

Lebanon is trying to rebuild a state that controls its own territory after years of war and Israeli attacks. Stopping weapons smuggling across the Syrian border is a test of that effort. Read our report on Israel’s demolitions in south Lebanon.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn and AFP.