Thousands of residents of the Syrian border region of Qusair, most of whom live in the eastern Lebanese town of Arsal, are asking for international guarantees after Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah has asked them to return to their land.
The area has turned in the past six years into a major military base for Hezbollah, from which its elements fight in various regions of Syria.
Some of the people of the region, who have been publicly prohibited in recent years from returning to their towns and cities, insist that the guarantees must be international. Many of those had previously engaged in operations against Hezbollah and the Syrian regime, or were supporters of the opposition fighters.
Around 30,000 Quseir citizens currently live in the town of Arsal, which has witnessed recently calls by Lebanese citizens against the deterioration of the economic situation, which they blame on the Syrian presence.
The mayor of Arsal, Bassel Hujeiri, noted that a large part of Syrian refugees were demanding international assurances and guarantees that may be difficult to achieve in the current situation.
He added that it might be useful to work instead on intra-Syrian understandings, “which had contributed earlier to the repatriation of many of the displaced we were hosting in our town to other regions, including areas of the western Qalamoun.”
“Despite all the challenges and difficulties we face, we have been insisting on the voluntary return of the displaced, and we believe that initiating the return to Qusair will leave a major impact on the entire Arsal community,” he remarked.
Last week, Nasrallah announced that his party has arranged its positions in the villages of Qusair, adding that all of the residents could now safely return to their villages, based on a decision by the Syrian leadership.
According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the return of citizens to the city of Qusair located in western Homs countryside “is still shy, given the obstacles and fears that stand in the way of their return, despite [Hezbollah’s] assurances.”
“This return is conditional,” the Observatory noted, revealing that Sunni Muslim and Christian citizens are required to prove their loyalty to [Hezbollah], and are subject to lengthy investigations before being allowed to return to their homeland.
