Syria- Lebanon relations

Syria has a long and tumultuous history of meddling in Lebanese affairs. For much of the past 30 years, Lebanon has lived under Syrian military and political domination. Important milestones affecting the Syria- Lebanon relationship: Syria’s civilwar: Since the uprising against President Bashar Assad began in February 2011, Lebanon has been steadily drawn into the unrest— a troubling sign for the country with political parties rooted in various Christian and Muslim sects, many of which are armed. While Syria’s revolt has intensified between predominantly Sunni rebels and Assad’s regime— dominated by Alawites, an offshoot Shiite group— Lebanon has seen a steady flow of refugees from Syria, with frequent street clashes along its northern border. Tensions between Beirut and Damascus deepened in August, after an arrest of former Lebanese Information Minister Michel Samaha, one of Syria’s most loyal allies in Lebanon. A senior Lebanese police official, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to talk to the media, said Samaha confessed to having personally transported explosives in his car fromSyria to Lebanon to kill Lebanese. A military court indicted Samaha; Syrian Brig. Gen. AliMamlouk, a close aide of Assad, was indicted in absentia on charges of furnishing the explosives. Political assassination: Political assassinations in Lebanon have occurred with impunity for decades, and Syria has been blamed for many of the killings. In 2005, Syria was widely accused of involvement in the killing of former PrimeMinister Rafik Hariri, a wealthy businessman and an influential Sunni politician. Hariri was hailed in Lebanon for rebuilding Beirut after the 15- year civil war. Following his death in a car bomb explosion, Damascus was forced to withdraw its troops and Syria’s grip in Lebanon began to slip. The U. N.- backed Special Tribunal for Lebanon has indicted four Hezbollah members as suspects in the Hariri assassination. Hezbollah denies involvement and has refused to extradite the suspects. Many Lebanese residents accused Assad’s regime of being behind Friday’s assassination of Brig. Gen. Wissam al- Hassan, a Sunni, who headed the intelligence division of Lebanon’s domestic security forces that has been probing the assassination plot against Hariri. Hezbollah: The Iran- backed Hezbollah has been Syria’s most powerful ally in Lebanon, particularly since Damascus ended its military presence in Lebanon. The Shiitemilitant group has dominated Lebanese politics formore than a decade and is now in control of the government. In 2006, Hezbollah gained support from Sunnis and Christians during a 34- day war with Israel. Since the beginning of the Syrian uprising, Hezbollah has sought to distance itself fromthe turmoil in Syria, although there have been allegations that the group has sent fighters to help Assad’s regime fight rebels.