Clashes with the Syrians and Israeli reprisals: The fires that kindle Lebanon
At least seven deaths in a border area. The fragility of a frontier that has long been a free zone for trafficking and illicit trade. Fears of an escalation with the Jewish state and US manoeuvres for ‘normalisation’. In the spirit of the Abu Dhabi declaration, Christians and Muslims celebrate the feast of the Annunciation today.
Beirut (AsiaNews) - The rise to power in Syria of a Sunni Islamist regime and the agreement on the application of United Nations Resolution 1701 in the southern sector have radically changed the geopolitical situation in Lebanon.
The country of cedars is gradually, but with difficulty, freeing itself from the grip of Hezbollah and Iran. However, caught in the crossfire, it must learn to manage the new tensions.
On the border with Syria, with the exception of the border posts controlled by the army, the Shiite Party of God continues to be present, even if it now has to face the army of Damascus, mainly composed of Sunni groups that are still not very integrated.
The latter no longer tolerate the trafficking of goods and people controlled by Hezbollah and the allied Shiite tribes, which prevailed under the dictatorship of former President Bashar al-Assad.
A week ago, violent clashes broke out between Syrian forces and traffickers in the village of Hoch Sayyed Ali. This area near the border is crossed by a river that divides it in two, with one part in Syria and the other in Lebanon.
At least 10 people were killed in the clashes, which only stopped following the forceful intervention of the Lebanese army on 17 March. Furthermore, Damascus accused Hezbollah of having instigated the kidnapping and killing, by traffickers, of three soldiers from Hay'at Tahriri al-Sham (HTS), the core of the new Syrian army, something that the pro-Iranian movement formally denied.
Village on fire
Seven Lebanese were killed in the fighting, including the son of a Shia tribal leader. With the arrival of the Lebanese army, the Syrian forces finally withdrew from the Lebanese part of the village, but not before looting and setting fire to houses.
This incident clearly reflects the fragility of a situation that could easily be repeated, given that Lebanon shares a 330-kilometre border with Syria, with no official demarcation at several points.
Hezbollah's intervention in Syria in 2013, initially motivated by a concern to preserve its communication links with Iran, strengthened its grip on the border villages.
The Shiite clans, who chose to belong to Lebanon in the 1920s, still live on both sides of the fragile border. Until recently, the absence of state control allowed free movement between the two countries, transforming the region into a lawless zone and a free trade area.
And it is precisely to deal with this emergency situation, and others that could occur, that the new Lebanese Minister of Defence, Miche Menassa, will travel to Damascus tomorrow, 26th March, to meet his Syrian counterpart, Mourhaf Abou Qasra. On the agenda will be the smuggling of arms, petrol and drugs, which affects part of the population of the Bekaa.
Israeli reprisals
In southern Lebanon too, the new government in power in Beirut is facing a situation of profound instability. Last week the situation almost got out of hand when three rockets were fired anonymously at Metoulla, the largest city and the one closest to the Israeli border, and intercepted by Israel.
No one claimed responsibility for the attack and Hezbollah washed its hands of it, denying any involvement. However, this didn't stop Israel from going on the rampage and carrying out at least 18 military operations against the South, killing eight people. One of the raids also hit the city of Tyre. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to bomb Beirut and intense contacts were initiated at the highest levels, with Washington and Paris, to avoid a very dangerous escalation that could cause a full-scale conflict to break out again.
At the moment there are three hypotheses regarding the identity of the perpetrators of the attack from the Land of the Cedars to the Jewish State. The Lebanese army found three makeshift launch ramps in a remote valley north of the Litani River. Some have linked this incident to the resumption of war in the Gaza Strip, others to Israel. It is surprising that the ramps escaped Israeli surveillance, whose drones fly over southern Lebanon day and night.
Finally, some believe that the perpetrators of this attack are rogue elements within Hezbollah; a perspective fuelled by the current phase, in which the November agreement - which in practice amounts to a capitulation - has widened the gap between a ‘moderate’ political wing loyal to Naïm Qassem, the new secretary general, and a military wing represented by Wafic Safa. The arrival in Lebanon in April of Morgan Ortagus, Donald Trump's new special envoy to Beirut, will reveal whether Israeli pressure is just the beginning of a new military offensive, or blackmail to provoke new violence and push Lebanon into normalising relations with the Jewish state.
Joint Islamic-Christian holiday
It is in this climate of tension that Lebanon today celebrates the Annunciation, declared a joint Muslim-Christian holiday in 2010. Considered a milestone in the process of coexistence in Lebanon, this year's celebration will centre on a ceremony in the city of Jbeil, with the participation of local bishops and Sunni and Shiite dignitaries.
The programme includes exchanges of visits between churches and mosques, readings from the Gospel and the Koran and words of praise, simultaneous tolling of bells and calls of the muezzin, as well as psalms broadcast over loudspeakers. The event will end with an iftar, as this year the fasting of the lunar month of Ramadan coincides with Lent.
Everyone, except the fundamentalists, is pleased with the level of civilisation that characterises this celebration, which takes place in the spirit of the Abu Dhabi Declaration of Brotherhood signed by Pope Francis and the Imam of al-Azhar, but which remains without any real popular significance.
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