BEIRUT — Following the launch of Turkey’s offensive against the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria on Oct. 9, the international community responded with swift condemnation, and the Arab League denounced it as a violation of an Arab state’s sovereignty Oct. 12. Prior to the Arab League’s statement, Lebanese President Michel Aoun expressed his own concerns about the assault, termed Operation Peace Spring by Turkey, to UN officials. The Lebanese Foreign Ministry said it considers the operation “an aggression against a brotherly Arab state and the occupation of Syria's land subjecting its people to killing and displacement.”

Lebanon’s shared history with Syria has meant that events taking place next door can often have an impact on Lebanon’s fractious politics, which for years have been divided based on pro- or anti-Syrian affiliations.

So far, Lebanon’s leaders and top political parties have, to varying degrees, denounced the Turkish operation, but their stance has only received partial support from the Lebanese public. While some parties and groups have cautiously approved of the government’s position, key constituencies such as low-income Sunnis in Tripoli and Beirut have rallied around Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan because of his, in their eyes, powerful Islamic brand. Lebanon’s precarious relationship with Syria has led members of certain parties to warn against taking any further positions on the country’s politics, and have urged leaders to maintain Lebanon’s official policy of dissociation from regional affairs.

On Oct. 12, Lebanese Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who heads the Free Patriotic Movement, had advocated for the readmittance of Syria to the Arab League for its own protection against Turkey, and likened the Turkish assault to Israeli invasions of Arab states in a tweet the same day. Prime Minister Saad Hariri, whose majority-Sunni Future Movement party is not friendly toward Syria, said Oct. 13 that the Foreign Ministry statement is the official position of the government but that Lebanon should continue to stay out of regional conflicts.