A temporary truce between Lebanon and the Islamic State guerillas fell apart less than three hours after it was established.  The Sunni militants who’ve taken over a huge swath of Syria and Iraq have turned their attention to Lebanon and have taken over a border town.

Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) are battling Islamic State at the village of Arsal, where thousands of Syrian refugees are sheltering.  France is now promising to speed up deliveries of weapons to Lebanon, for which Saudi Arabia has already ledged to pay.  French Deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Vincent Floreani said that Paris is “fully committed to supporting the Lebanese army, a pillar of stability and unity in Lebanon.”

The conflict threatens to spread, as Hezbollah’s Shiite fighters are watching to see if Lebanon’s military can handle the challenge.

“So long as the Lebanese military is capable of preventing the Islamists from expanding towards the Shiite villages in the Beqaa Valley, Hezbollah will not take the decision to intervene,” said retired Brigadier General Amin Hoteit of the Lebanese military.

Meanwhile, the United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) is expressing “extreme concern” over reports that 40 children from Iraq’s Yazidi minority died in an offensive by Islamic State guerillas on the village of Sinjar. 

“Families who fled the area are in immediate need of urgent assistance, including up to 25,000 children who are now stranded in mountains surrounding Sinjar and are in dire need of humanitarian aid, including drinking water and sanitation services,” UNICEF said in a statement.

The Sunni zealots of Islamic State persecute the Yazidi more than other groups, because they practice an ancient religious linked to Zoroastrianism, incorrectly assumed to be “devil worship” by other groups – especially Islamic State.