Syria will reopen the al-Dabbousiya border crossing with Lebanon on Monday after rehabilitation and expansion works at the site, the country's borders authority has announced. The General Authority for Borders and Customs said the crossing would resume operations on 9 November, as part of a wider programme to develop Syria's border crossings. The announcement was carried by the Syrian state news agency SANA on 7 November.

Al-Dabbousiya, also spelled Dabousiyeh, is one of six official crossings between Syria and Lebanon. The others include Jdeidet Yabous, known on the Lebanese side as Masnaa, as well as Arida and Jousieh. The crossings are the main overland routes for passengers and goods between the two countries, and for Lebanon's onward road links to the rest of the region.

The authority described the works at Dabbousiya as part of projects to develop border crossings, suggesting further upgrades are planned elsewhere on the frontier. For people living near the crossing on either side, its reopening restores a direct route that has been unavailable while the works were carried out.

The reopening follows months of repair work at Syria's border posts, many of which were damaged during the recent war. The Jisr Qamar crossing, also known as al-Buqai'a, reopened in May after completing its operational arrangements, and the Arida crossing reopened for passengers in June last year. Syrian authorities have also carried out temporary repairs on the international road linking the Jdeidet Yabous crossing with the Lebanese border, filling craters left by Israeli strikes.

The border between the two countries has been under repair since the war, when Israeli strikes hit roads, bridges and crossings linking Syria and Lebanon. Syrian officials have described the Jdeidet Yabous crossing as a real artery between Syria and Lebanon, and work there has focused on filling craters and restoring a temporary road while full rehabilitation continues. Each reopened crossing eases pressure on the ones still operating, for travellers and freight alike.

The crossing announcement comes as Damascus and Beirut discuss the return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani met a Lebanese delegation led by Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri in Damascus to discuss the return process and measures to support it. A functioning crossing at Dabbousiya would give returning families another official route home, alongside the crossings already in use.

The authority has not published details of opening hours or of any limits on who may cross first. Travellers intending to use the route should check the latest position with the border authorities before travelling.