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Lebanon's army latest victim of Syria spillover

The Lebanese army is facing its worst challenge since the end of the civil war in 1990, with many defectors threatening the military establishment's unity.
Lebanese army soldiers on military vehicles and armoured carriers advance towards the Sunni Muslim border town of Arsal, in eastern Bekaa Valley as part of reinforcements August 4, 2014. The Lebanese army advanced on Monday into a border town attacked by Islamists at the weekend in the most serious spillover of the three-year-old Syrian civil war into Lebanon. A dozen armoured personnel carriers were seen advancing towards the town, together with a similar number of other military vehicles including trucks

As the Syrian dilemma continues, neighboring Lebanon is getting more and more of the spillover that’s becoming an imminent threat to its already fragile security. Since the end of the bloody 15-year civil war in 1990, Lebanon’s army has been one of the few elements that most Lebanese agree on; the military establishment was, to many, the only savior any time the situation got tense, or threats grew, despite the army’s humble capabilities.

On Oct. 16, a Twitter account linked to Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant, posted a video that shows defecting Lebanese army Cpl. Abdallah Shehadeh in front of a Lebanese army Humvee filled with weapons and ammunition, which he took when he decided to join Jabhat al-Nusra.

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