Skip to main content

Lebanon: Between Tripoli and Balochistan

Northern Lebanon is paying the price for the rise of radicalism in the region.
Lebanese army soldiers ride on their military vehicles after being deployed to tighten security following days of clashes between Sunni Muslims and Alawites in the northern port city of Tripoli October 28, 2013. Two people died in the northern city of Tripoli on Monday, security and medical sources said, in fighting between supporters and opponents of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and the Lebanese army which has spilled over from the war next door.   REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL U
Read in 

The flames of war that struck Lebanon’s northern capital, Tripoli, last week are still smoldering. Despite the army deployment in the neighborhoods that witnessed military confrontations, nothing indicates that the fate of the latest ceasefire will be different from the many that preceded it.

The agreements reached between the official security services and the “leaders of the axes” fall squarely within militia-type logic and themselves constitute a challenge to state authority and its monopoly of arms and in maintaining security.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.