Tag Archives: Lebanese Civil War 1975-90

Estimation of the current situation in Lebanon

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chemattackPeople on the floor after an alleged gas attack by the Syrian government. (Al Jazeera)

Estimation of the current situation in Lebanon – Part 3 (final)

Today, Sunnites in Lebanon still have no forceful leader with a military background, who could inspire them in a region, where political parties often run militias to promote their cause.

Among the few cards, Lebanese Sunnites could play against Hezbollah, would be an external Sunnite militant leader to take up arms successfully against the Shiite party. But such a man is not in sight.

The last ambitious figure, Sheikh Ahmed al-Assir, was chased away in June in a  combined operation of the Lebanese army and – most likely – Hezbollah.

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Estimation of the current situation in Lebanon

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tripoliMen are trying to extinguish fires after the explosion in Tripoli. (Euronews)

Estimation of the current situation in Lebanon – Part 2

Hezbollah, rebels or a third party?
The double car bombing in Tripoli might well be the work of Syrian rebels or their Lebanese sympathizers. Though, in Lebanon many national and international players have plenty of reasons on a daily base to go after on another.

We think, Hezbollah does not need to show its strength, and surely it is not served well with an angry Sunnite community at home, consequently playing into the hands of an alleged Sunnite militant strategy mentioned in the first part of this estimation.

Retaliation into no man´s land
The morning before the deadly car bombing in Tripoli, Israel did attack a target in Naameh, south of Beirut, with an retaliatory air strike. In the evening before, four rockets had been fired from Lebanon towards Israel without causing damage.

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Estimation and outlook on the situation in Syria and the region

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derserted street in TripoliA deserted street in Tripoli during fighting between Alawites and Sunnites. (Al-Jazeera)

Estimation and outlook on the situation in Syria and the region – Part 2

Not happy with Hezbollah
People in Lebanon – many Shiites among them – are not content and even angry about Hezbollah´s role in Syria. But they can’t or don’t want to get rid of the organization for several reasons.

Many Shiites depend on Hezbollah, and the others just have no serious means to confront the organisation or are bound in political affiliations. Though, the latter may be in flux as some recent moves of Christian leader Michel Aoun suggest, who signed a Memorandung of Understanding with Hezbollah.

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Report: Saudis buying Balkan arms for Syrian rebels

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Report: Saudis buying Balkan arms for Syrian rebels (AFP/Daily Star)

Background: Weapons trade between the Balkans and the Middle East is established since long. After the Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) large contingents were sold to former Yugoslavia.

Lebanese Forces (LF) tanks and armoured personnel carriers displaying the party’s cross could be seen on CNN during the time of the Yugoslav Wars in the 1990s.

SYRIA – Comment on “For desperate Syrians, a search for any way out” (Daily Star, 04. February 2013 – David Ignatius)

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Comment on “For desperate Syrians, a search for any way out” (Daily Star, 04. February 2013 – David Ignatius)

Arming “paramilitary” forces, which in fact are militias, has rarely been a good idea. They take the knowledge and the arms. Once they got what they wanted, they are loose guns and often the nightmare of their fellow countrymen.

Ordinary people in Syria don’t have an agenda. They want to eat, drink and send their children to school. Life in Syria was not as bad for the majority of people as one might think when now we read about the “dictator” Bashar al-Assad, who was the “President” for ten years before the uprising.

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LEBANON/SYRIA LBC: Syrian refugees in Lebanon are facing hard living in Chouf

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The Lebanese television station LBC reports that Syrian refugees in Lebanon are facing a hard living in the Chouf district.

Yesterday, former residents of the embattled Damascus “Yarmouk” Palestinian refugee camp staged a protest in Taalabaya, Lebanon, outside the Palestinian cultural center to bring attention to their cause.

They called upon the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), the Ministry of Social Affairs and the Higher Relief Commission, asking for food and shelter.

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