Four reasons Hezbollah is concerned by Syrian militants
The continuing infiltration of Syrian fundamentalists and terrorists into the southeastern corner of Lebanon might lead to a clash with Israel, or to Sunni-Shiite strife in the already tense areas.
Sources close to Hezbollah said the Shiite organization has been voicing growing concern about repeated infiltration by armed Syrians from Syria into the western Bekaa Valley, to the southeastern corner of Lebanon. This region, which constitutes a border triangle between west Lebanon, east Syria and south Israel, has undergone recurring clashes and gunfire.
Official security forces have managed twice within the past few weeks, on July 3 and on Aug. 28, to arrest a number of these armed militants. However, many questions hang over other cases of infiltration, which have yet to be controlled by Lebanese security forces. Some of these questions are about the number of Sunni fundamentalists who have crossed the border from Syria into Lebanon in the western Bekaa Valley.
The same sources explain that Hezbollah has concerns about this phenomenon for several reasons.
First, in the most simplistic approach, this new border gap has given access for armed Syrians affiliated with Sunni fundamentalist or terrorist organizations to come into Lebanon. This gap is added to the great breaches taking place in the northeastern corner of Lebanon, in the region of Arsal.
