Lebanon's role in the Syrian civil war

Lebanon's role in theSyrian Civil Warhas been limited, compared to the role of other regional and international actors. While the Lebanese Republic has not been officially involved in the conflict, it has been greatly affected by it and some Lebanese factors have taken an active role in the Syrian War and itsspillover into Lebanon.

During the war, conflicting statements were issued by Lebanese politicians in regard to the Syrian Civil War, though in general the Lebanese Republic remained neutral in the conflict. Between 2011 and 2017, fighting from theSyrian Civil Warspilled overintoLebanonas opponents and supporters of theSyrian rebelstravelled to Lebanon to fight and attack each other on Lebanese soil.

Hezbollahinvolvement in the Syrian Civil War has been substantial since the beginning of the armed insurgency phase of theSyrian Civil War,and turned into active support and troop deployment from 2012 onwards. By 2014, Hezbollah had become actively involved in support of Syrian Ba'athist Government forces across Syria.Hezbollah deployed several thousand fighters in Syria and by 2015 lost up to 1500 fighters in combat.

Since 2011, Lebanon has absorbedSyrian refugeesand provided humanitarian aid too. According to theUNHCR,there were over 1 million Syrian refugees who had been registered in Lebanon in 2016.

Background

Main article:Lebanon–Syria relations

Lebanon had traditionally been seen bySyriaas part of theregion of Syria:under theOttoman Empire,Lebanon and Syria were included within one administrative entity. FollowingWorld War I,theLeague of NationsMandate partitioned Ottoman Greater Syria under French control, eventually leading to the creation of nation-states Lebanon and Syria. Relations between the two countries had been strained, especially with the 29-yearSyrian Occupation of Lebanon,accusations of Syrian intervention within Lebanese politics before and after withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon, and suspicions of Syria assassinating Lebanese political figures like former prime ministerRafic Hariri.

Syria officially recognized Lebanon's sovereignty in 2008.Lebanon-Syria relations were officially established in October 2008 when Syrian PresidentBashar Assadissued a decree to establishdiplomatic relationswith Lebanon for the first time since both countries gained independence fromFrancein 1943.

Official Lebanese standpoint

During the war, conflicting statements were issued by Lebanese politicians in regard to the Syrian Civil War, though in general the Lebanese Republic remained neutral in the conflict. The Hezbollah and Amal affiliated politicians and ministers generally stated in support to the Syrian Ba'athist government, whereas other parties criticized it. Since 2012, Hezbollah actively intervened in the Syrian War, supporting the Ba'athist forces.

Absorption of Syrian refugees and humanitarian aid

Main article:Syrians in Lebanon

Since 2011, Lebanon has absorbedSyrian refugeesand provided humanitarian aid too. According to the UNHCR, there were over 1 million Syrian refugees who had been registered in Lebanon in 2016.Nevertheless, this figure is likely largely underestimated since the UNHCR has stopped registering new Syrian refugees since May 2015 and it doesn't include individuals awaiting to be registered.Hence, precise figures of the number of Syrian people in Lebanon don't exist currently. Recent estimates were as high as 1,500,000 people.

Border incidents and spillover

Between 2011 and 2017, fighting from theSyrian Civil Warspilled overintoLebanonas opponents and supporters of theSyrian rebelstravelled to Lebanon to fight and attack each other on Lebanese soil. The Syrian conflict has been described as having stoked a "resurgence of sectarian violence in Lebanon",with many of Lebanon'sSunniMuslims supporting the rebels in Syria, while manyShi'iteshave supported Assad, whoseAlawiteminority is usually described as an offshoot of Shi'a Islam.Killings, unrest, and kidnappings of foreign citizens acrossLebanonresulted.

Pro-Syrian forces fought against opposition to theal-Assadpresidency in theBab al-Tabbaneh, Jabal Mohsen clashes,leading to the deaths of three people and more injuries.Tripolihas a majority Sunni Muslim population but also secular pro-AssadAlawites.One Sunni cleric alleged that the Syrian president sent forces intoTripolito introduce unrest within the region. March 2012 discussions on the national level include concerns that toppling the al-Assad government would result in regional instability for Lebanon andIraq.

Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian War

See also:Hezbollah involvement in the Syrian Civil War

Hezbollahinvolvement in the Syrian Civil War has been substantial since the beginning of armed insurgency phase of theSyrian Civil War,and turned into active support and troop deployment from 2012 onwards. By 2014, Hezbollah involvement begun to turn steady in support of Syrian Ba'athist Government forces across Syria.Hezbollah deployed several thousand fighters in Syria and by 2015 lost up to 1500 fighters in combat.Hezbollah has also been very active to prevent rebel penetration from Syria to Lebanon, being one of the most active forces in theSyrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon.

In the past, Hezbollah has served a strategic arm of Iran in the region, allegedly playing a key role in theIran-IsraelandIran-Saudi Arabiaproxy conflicts in the middle east. In a number of occasions, Hezbollah weapon convoys in Syria and Syrian-Lebanese border areas were attacked, with Israel being the main suspected party behind most such attacks, though Israel did not claim responsibility except for theMarch 2017 Israel–Syria incident.Hezbollah convoys have also been attacked by Syrian rebel factions, most notably the Al-Nusra Front.

See also

• Humanitarian aid during the Syrian Civil War