(Al Jazeera) Clashes have resumed between the Lebanese army and fighters from the Islamic State group in a town near the Syrian border, after ceasefire collapsed, a security source said.
According to the Reuters news agency the ceasefire agreed in Arsal earlier on Tuesday collapsed when an army position came under fire.
The two sides have been fighting since Saturday in Arsal.
The ceasefire was supposed to last 24 hours from 7 pm and to allow mediators to investigate the fate of 22 missing soldiers and to meet the humanitarian needs of tens of thousands of civilians in the area.
The UN Security Council has backed Lebanon's military action against armed groups but urged it to stay out of the conflict in neighbouring Syria, as Beirut vowed no leniency for the "terrorist killers".
Twenty-two Lebanese soldiers were missing, possibly taken hostage, the army announced, and a military source said 16 others had been killed since the clashes with rebel fighters erupted on Saturday near the Syrian border.
The Security Council on Monday called on Lebanese politicians to "preserve national unity" and "refrain from any involvement in the Syrian crisis".
The 15-member Council "expressed support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and the Internal Security Forces in their fight against terrorism".
More...
For some reason, the same UN Security Council avoids referring to Hamas as terrorists.
31%
21%
