Syrian violence extends to claim Lebanese lives
Terrorists target army, ex-general says after soldiers killed
Three soldiers from the Lebanese army were the latest fatalities in the deep escalation of violence hitting Lebanon as a result of the Syrian revolution, causing concern over the spread of the conflict regionally.
A group of gunmen in a black jeep fatally shot the three soldiers at a checkpoint in the northeast town of Arsal, a predominantly Sunni enclave close to the Lebanese-Syrian border. The gunmen escaped into Syria.
The town of Arsal is a smuggling route between the two countries, and these days, weapons are the main item being ferried across. Arsal is also the temporary home to thousands of Syrian refugees.
Manifestations of the war in Syria have played out in Lebanon over the past few weeks, paving the way toward what could be a violent summer. Hezbollah’s overt involvement in the war has also brought the fight closer to home.
“What happened this morning is a real terrorist operation against the army,” said Hisham Jaber, a retired Lebanese army general and president of the Center for Middle East Studies. “The army is just there trying to maintain order and trying to forbid movement back and forth, and as such, they will continue to be the target,” he said, suggesting the operation may have been aimed at driving the military out of the region.
In Hermel, a Lebanese town near the Syrian border with a heavily Shiite population, rockets fired from Syria injured three civilians early Tuesday and killed one Monday.
The Syrians are fighting for control of Qusayr, a mountainous Syrian town of strategic value to both sides. For the opposition, control of Qusayr means protecting a supply line to Lebanon 6 miles away. For President Bashar Assad’s troops, it’s a corridor linking the capital of Damascus to key Alawite towns from which he draws support.
“We have been living the spillover of the Syrian regime for over 60 years,” said Moustafa Alloush, an official in the Western-allied Future Movement. “Most of the violence that has occurred in Lebanon is from Syria, and unfortunately, I don’t think this is the end of it. Now we’re seeing the consequences of Hezbollah’s involvement in the war.”
The spread of the civil war over Syria’s borders comes as outside nations try to influence events. The European Union lifted an arms embargo on Syria late Monday, creating the possibility that Western nations will arm rebels to even the odds against the Syrian government.
Russia, allied with Assad, lashed out at the EU decision as a risk of wider warfare. It claimed its own delivery of weapons to Syria is meant only to prevent the West from making matters worse.
Israel said Tuesday that it is prepared to attack any missile shipments to Syria that could be transferred to Syria’s Hezbollah allies. The U.S.-designated terrorist group based in southern Lebanon has been sending fighters to help Assad, and Israel has bombed convoys of weapons Hezbollah has tried to move into Lebanon.