Above all Lebanese fear they will be dragged into the mayhem of neighboring Syria’s increasingly sectarian violence. Recent clashes between Lebanese army units and radical Islamists fighting to topple Syrian President Bashar al-Assad have only heightened their anxiety -- as has a huge influx of Syrian refugees. The government in Beirut has struggled for months to try to limit the repercussions from Syria. The biggest worry has been that violence will be sparked between the Lebanese Shia militia, Hezbollah, which has been backing Assad, and the country’s Sunni Muslims, who support Sunnis in Syria fighting to oust Assad.
The latest alarm came from a recent clash in the town of Arsal near the Syrian border that left two Lebanese soldiers dead. The incident between Lebanese army units and fighters affiliated with Jabhat al-Nusra, a Jihadist group that has emerged as a highly effective force within the Syrian rebellion, has prompted pledges of a crackdown from Lebanese army commanders. “Any hand that aggresses the army will be cut off,” says army commander Jean Kahwagi. "We will pursue the attackers wherever they are,” he added. At the high-profile funerals of the soldiers, distraught relatives and mourners called for revenge.
According to Gen. Khawaja, the clash in Arsal came after Islamist fighters fired on an army patrol trying to hunt down a wanted Jihadist leader. But Lebanese Sunnis in the Arsal area say the fighting was a consequence of increased friction between the army and local residents, most of whom are Sunnis.
Khaled Daher, a member of the Lebanese parliament and critic of the government, says the army targets Sunni towns like Arsal because “they support Syrian rebels” and help Syrian refugees fleeing the war in Syria. Lebanese officials say they have seen an alarming inflow of al-Nusra fighters who use Lebanon as a base where they can re-supply themselves. Officials also report an increase in foreign Islamist fighters transiting the country on their way to fight in the Syrian conflict. The Lebanese army is under pressure to maintain control.
Complex ties
