Restored Lebanon-Syria border crossing could handle 10,000 travelers a day, officials say

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• Aboudieh‑Dabbousieh crossing linking the Akkar region of northern Lebanon with Homs province in Syria reopened two years after it was damaged by an Israeli airstrike.
• It offers northern Lebanon businesses renewed trade prospects by restoring a direct link to Syrian industrial facilities in Hassia and the Port of Tartous as well as the Port of Tripoli.

London: After a two‑year closure stemming from damage done by an Israeli strike in November 2024, the Abboudieh‑Dabbousieh border crossing, connecting Lebanon’s Akkar Governorate with Syria’s Homs Province, has reopened. Extensive repair works to its bridge and other structures enabled passenger and commercial traffic to resume.

Mazen Alloush, Syria’s General Authority of Borders and Customs director of relations and international cooperation, confirmed that the site can now manage between 8,000 and 10,000 travellers and 150 to 250 freight trucks each day when fully operational, according to the state‑run Syrian Arab News Agency.

The reopening aims to divert land traffic away from the Masnaa border (“Jdeidet Yabous”) in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley, an artery that previously bore most cross‑border movements. While the north‑facing crossings Aboudieh‑Dabbousieh and Arida remain shuttered, the second northern link, Arida, is slated for restoration in December.

Renewed flow gives northern Lebanese firms long wracked by underinvestment confidence, providing a chance to link markets — including the Port of Tripoli — with Syrian production centers in Hissia (Hassia) and Taroutse.

This announcement comes at a time when both countries effort to mend relations ripulated by decades of Syrian military presence in Lebanon, from 1976 to 2005, during which the Assad regime was accused of sponsoring political killings.

Broader tensions flared after the November 2024 Israeli attacks that struck what Hezbollah allies’ frontiers. At that moment, President Bashar Assad — then the primary Hezbollah conduit — continued his rule. Following the assault, Assad fled to Moscow as rebels surged through Damascus, prompting new Syrian governments to pursue tighter coordination with Beirut.

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