Lebanese Take Sides in Syrian Civil War
December 18, 2012
Syria’s civil war is inflaming passions next door in Lebanon. James Brooke reports from Lebanon’s second largest city, Tripoli, where supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fought running gun battles last week.
Posters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad festoon this hilltop neighborhood overlooking Tripoli, Lebanon’s second largest city.
This one reads: “The Arab nation will not kneel as long as Bashar al-Assad is their Commander.”
But Abo Ali Zoumar, a local militia commander, admits it has been five years since he has gone down the hill to the Mediterranean shore, only one kilometer from his apartment.
Blocking his way are militia from Tripoli’s Sunni majority population. They back the rebels in neighboring Syria.
Last week, Syria’s civil war spilled over into Lebanon, as fighting broke out between the two groups here, killing 17 and wounding 77 more.
In Tripoli, Lebanon, the Lebanese army has imposed a ceasefire after fighting here between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Assad. This man was one of 20 volunteers killed with rebels inside Syria.
With the Syrian border only 30 kilometers north of here, the Lebanese men went to help their fellow Sunni in the ranks of the Free Syrian Army.
On Syria Street, the border between the two warring communities,
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