War Clouds Gather Over Lebanon

A correspondent in Beirut

Sep 4, 2013

A Lebanese army armoured personnel carrier is seen after re-deployment in the port city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon August 24, 2013. Bombs hit two mosques in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli on Friday, killing at least 42 people and wounding hundreds, intensifying sectarian strife that has spilled over from the civil war in neighbouring Syria. REUTERS/Rayan al-Turk (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX12V0X — A Lebanese army armored personnel carrier is seen after re-deployment in the port city of Tripoli in northern Lebanon, Aug. 24, 2013. — REUTERS/Rayan al-Turk

عربي

The Lebanese people have a feeling that war is closing in. Lebanese officials have been talking ominously of the possibility of an American strike on Syria and its expected impact on Lebanon politically, economically and in terms of security.

High-ranking Lebanese officials speaking to Al-Monitor claim that if the US Congress were to give President Barack Obama the green light to strike Syria, this could increase the number of displaced Syrians in Lebanon from one million, according to UN figures, to about 2.25 million.