Over the last two days, the Lebanese army has been facing its most serious challenge as a military institution since May 2007. The Lebanese government is now facing the difficult test that it has been anticipating since the outbreak of the Syria crisis in March 2011.
Violent clashes broke out in Arsal between Lebanese army units and armed supporters of the Syrian opposition in the early afternoon of Aug. 2. Arsal, a town in the eastern Bekaa Valley, lies along the Syrian border.