Arsal

Ain Choaab or Ain Chaub spring is located in the nearby hills, just of the main road from Arsal to Labweh. There are Natufian rock shelters situated {{convert|80|m|ft}} above the wadi bed of the spring that can be accessed via a steep climb up a ridge. Flint tools were collected from the site by Bruce Schroeder in 1970.{{cite book|author1=Peter M. M. G. Akkermans|author2=Glenn M. Schwartz|title=The Archaeology of Syria: From Complex Hunter-Gatherers to Early Urban Societies (c.16,000-300 BC)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_4oqvpAHDEoC&pg=PA33|access-date=23 September 2012|date=8 January 2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-79666-8|pages=33–}}{{cite book|author1=Ofer Bar-Yosef|author2=François Raymond Valla|title=Natufian Culture in the Levant |series=Archaeological Series |volume=19|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KDMbAQAAMAAJ|access-date=23 September 2012|year=1991|publisher=International Monographs in Prehistory|isbn=978-1-879621-03-9}} The Ain Choaab archaeological site has not yet been excavated.{{cite book |last1=Bruce |first1=Schroeder |chapter=Natufian in the Central Béqaa Valley, Lebanon |title=Natufian Culture in the Levant |publisher=International Monographs in Prehistory |series=Archaeological Series |volume=19 |date=1991 |pages=43–78 |isbn=9781879621039 |chapter-url=https://ehrafarchaeology.yale.edu/document?id=m080-014 |access-date=25 September 2019}}

In 1838, Eli Smith noted 'Arsal as a Metawileh village in the Baalbek area.Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. [https://archive.org/stream/biblicalresearch03robiuoft#page/145/mode/1up 145]

On 17 September 2012, Syrian ground-attack aircraft fired three missiles {{convert|500|m|ft}} over the border into Lebanese territory near Arsal. It was suggested that the jets were chasing rebels in the vicinity. The attack prompted Lebanese president Michel Sleiman to launch an investigation, whilst not publicly blaming Syria for the incident.[https://www.foxnews.com/world/syrian-jets-hit-lebanese-territory-near-border/#ixzz27JvfB9lg FOX News, Syrian jets hit Lebanese territory near border, September 18, 2012.]

On 22 September 2012, a group of armed members of the Free Syrian Army attacked a border post near Arsal. This was reported to be the second incursion within a week. The group were chased off into the hills by the Lebanese Army, who detained and later released some rebels due to pressure from locals. Michel Sleiman praised the actions taken by the military as maintaining Lebanon's position being "neutral from the conflicts of others". He called on border residents to "stand beside their army and assist its members." Syria has repeatedly called for an intensified crackdown on rebels that it claims are hiding in Lebanese border towns.{{Cite web |url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Sep-23/188927-lebanese-president-praises-army-response-to-fsa-attack.ashx#ixzz27JxWSuyo |title=The Daily Star (Lebanon), Lebanese president praises Army response to FSA attack, September 23, 2012. |access-date=September 23, 2012 |archive-date=February 9, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200209185355/http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Politics/2012/Sep-23/188927-lebanese-president-praises-army-response-to-fsa-attack.ashx#ixzz27JxWSuyo |url-status=dead }}[http://cnnespanol.cnn.com/2012/09/22/rebeldes-sirios-atacan-un-puesto-del-ejercito-en-territorio-de-libano/ Rebeldes sirios atacan un puesto del Ejército en territorio de Líbano, CNN Espanol, Alkhshali Hamdi, Amir Ahmed, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Ben Brumfield and Joe Sterling, 22 September 2012.]

One thousand four hundred refugee children from the Syrian civil war have been displaced into the town, where schools only have places for one hundred students. The situation reflects a growing crisis threatening to overwhelm the Beqaa educational system.[http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Sep-19/188481-refugee-children-overwhelm-bekaa-schools.ashx#axzz27Jwe5enz al-Fakih, Rakan., The Daily Star (Lebanon), Refugee children overwhelm Bekaa schools, September 19, 2012.]

On 2 February 2013, the Lebanese army was the victim of an armed ambush in the town as it was seeking to arrest Khaled Homayed. Two army officers were killed and a number of soldiers were wounded. Homayed is believed to have been involved with the Fatah al-Islam organization that was responsible for many deadly attacks on the Lebanese army as well as the kidnapping of seven Estonians in 2011. He is also believed to be active with the Free Syrian Army. Town residents refused to cooperate with the army to reveal the whereabouts of the gunmen who were responsible for the ambush.{{Cite news |url=http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2013/Feb-01/204650-army-patrol-ambushed-in-east-lebanon-several-casua.ashx#axzz2JflCcR28 |title=At least two soldiers killed in east Lebanon ambush |location=Lebanon |newspaper=The Daily Star}}

In August 2014, ISIS and its allies launched a full-scale invasion and the battle with Lebanese troops went on for five days before they were forced back into Syria.

In January 2016 a local newspaper reported that there were 10,000 Syrian refugees in Arsal itself with a further 100,000 in dozens of camps around the town.The Daily Star (Lebanon). 4/1/16 p.3. Nidal Soth. A second report estimated that Arsal was host to 50,000 refugees.[http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2016/Jan-31/334854-mp-denies-residents-fleeing-border-town-due-to-isis-nusra-fighting.ashx] Daily Star 31/1/16

On 21 July 2017, a Syrian Army commander stated that his forces and Hezbollah had launched a joint campaign to recapture the remaining territory under militant control near the Lebanon-Syria border, attacking the outskirts of Arsal. The Lebanese Army meanwhile assumed a defensive position in Arsal.{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-lebanon-idUSKBN1A608S|title=Hezbollah, Syria army launch offensive at Syrian-Lebanese border|date=21 July 2017|first1=Laila|last1=Bassam|first2=Tom|last2=Perry|work=Reuters|access-date=21 July 2017}}

In 2019, the Lebanese central government decided to demolish the refuges' huts built of hollow blocks over the war years on the grounds of missing building permits. According to the UNHCR, the resolution affects about 2,300 shelters in 17 camps around Arsal and up to 15,000 people, of whom about half are children.{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/06/22/733408450/forced-to-demolish-their-own-homes-syrian-refugees-in-lebanon-seek-new-shelter|title=Forced To Demolish Their Own Homes, Syrian Refugees In Lebanon Seek New Shelter|website=NPR.org|language=en|access-date=2019-07-03}}

Ref* Conference Institute for the Study of Religious Communities (G.H.Tardy, MA, expert Sherp.) -"Refugees in Lebanon and Destruction of Regional Geopolitical Diversity, 2019". In sup. "L'Intégrité du Liban en danger), Beirut, 2018.

Since the use of bulldozers in the demolition took no account of the interior facilities and the destruction of mattresses, kitchen appliances, furniture, water tanks was accepted, the humanitarian situation in Arsal has deteriorated dramatically. From now on, according to the government, only tents are still allowed for Syrian residents.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/07/lebanon-troops-demolish-syrian-refugee-homes-deadline-expires-190701111106849.html|title=Lebanon troops demolish Syrian refugee homes as deadline expires|website=www.aljazeera.com|access-date=2019-07-03}}

In 2014 Muslims made up 99.69% of registered voters in Arsal. 98.86% of the voters were Sunni Muslims.https://lub-anan.com/المحافظات/البقاع/بعلبك/عرسال/المذاهب/

{{reflist|25em}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book|last1=Robinson|first1=E.|author-link1=Edward Robinson (scholar)|last2=Smith|first2=E.|author-link2=Eli Smith|year=1841|url=https://archive.org/details/biblicalresearch03robiuoft |title=Biblical Researches in Palestine, Mount Sinai and Arabia Petraea: A Journal of Travels in the year 1838| location=Boston|publisher=Crocker & Brewster|volume=3}}

{{refend}}

{{Portal|Lebanon|History|Asia}}

• [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPCQjKzJoDU Syria's refugees seek safety in Lebanon, Euronews video on YouTube]
• [http://localiban.org/spip.php?article3988 Aarsal on Localiban] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120511065654/http://www.localiban.org/spip.php?article3988 |date=2012-05-11 }}
• [http://www.geographic.org/geographic_names/name.php?uni=-1154292&fid=3641&c=lebanon Aarsâl on geographic.org]
• {{Webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20130119154605/http://www.collinsmaps.com/maps/Lebanon/Baalbek-Hermel/Aarsal/P1071556.00.aspx |date=January 19, 2013 |title=Map of Aarsal on Collins Maps (collinsmaps.com) }}
• [http://www.maplandia.com/lebanon/lebanon/irsal/ 'Irsal map on maplandia.com]
• [http://wikimapia.org/1432957/Aarsal Aarsal on wikimapia]

{{Baalbek District}}

{{Archaeological sites in Lebanon}}

Category:Populated places in Baalbek District

Category:Sunni Muslim communities in Lebanon

Category:Archaeological sites in Lebanon

Category:Natufian sites