Syria Conflict Spilling into Lebanon

A lot is happening in Syria right now: the humanitarian crisis is spiraling out of control, sectarian tensions are heightening, and the civil war is spilling over the country’s borders.

A series of attacks by the opposition group Free Syrian Army (FSA) and its Sunni allies in Lebanon against Shiite militant group Hezbollah recently is a strong indicator of three things:

1. The Syria conflict is spilling over its borders more frequently, which demonstrates both the ferocity and often chaotic nature of the fighting as well as the divisions that the conflict is creating throughout the region outside of Syria

2. As the conflict spreads into neighbouring Lebanon, Sunni Muslims opposed to the influence of the Alawite Assad regime (Alawite is considered a branch of Shiite Islam), and the influence of the Shiite government of Iran and its proxy militant-group Hezbollah, are gradually becoming more emboldened to initiate violence against Shiite groups

3. Hezbollah’s legitimacy as a political force in Lebanon is being weakened by its participation in the Syrian Civil War

Also, attacks against Hezbollah by the FSA also shows the increasing sectarian nature of the conflict. Although it is true that Hezbollah is essentially controlled by the government of Iran and the militant group is often used to assert Tehran’s political authority in the region, the fact that the two major groups fighting for control of Syria are Sunnis (who make up the majority of Syria’s  population) and Shiites cannot be negated.

Violence between the two sects of Islam is apparent in several countries in the Middle East and South Asia. However, the increasing divisions between the two sides in Syria is now affecting the country’s border regions, which could very easily erupt into violence in neighbouring countries. Especially Lebanon, which has a long history of sectarian violence. Therefore, as the Syrian conflict takes on a more sectarian face, the risk of the war spreading into other parts of the Middle East increases, as religious divisions are not limited to state borders.

By Craig Graham

more at http://globalconflictanalysis.com/2013/03/syria-conflict-spilling-into-lebanon/