Complex sentence: Baabda lay downhill on the Beirut-Aley-Damascus highway, and any militia forces coming up from the south had to pass through Souk El Gharb to get into the Beirut-Aley road.
Split into simpler sentences: Baabda lay downhill on the Beirut-Aley-Damascus highway. The militias coming up from the south had to traverse through Souk El Gharb to get into the Beirut-Aley road.