“Already, the Syrian strife is starting to bleed into Lebanon. The Akkar region in the northeast has become a transit point for medical and other relief supplies — and the Syrian opposition hopes to use it as a staging ground for operations across the border in Homs, which has become the fulcrum of the battle to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad … Sunnis and some Christians in the north sympathize with the anti-Assad forces. The Lebanese army (which includes many Shiites who support Assad) is trying — gently — to control the border. But it’s a delicate balancing act, and when a Sunni cleric was killed last month at an army checkpoint, the region nearly exploded.”
The events in Syria are threatening to spill over into Lebanon, which is still shaky after decades of civil war and the continuing political fighting between the numerous religious groups. Tripoli, the second largest city in Lebanon, has seen clashes between Sunni and Alawite neighbourhoods and there is growing tension in Akkar region on the border with Syria.
To read the full article in the Washington Post, please click here.
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