(Christian Science Monitor) Nicholas Blanford - Pockets of north Lebanon are becoming either bastions of support for the Syrian regime or de facto safe havens for the armed Syrian opposition. Nourat al-Tahta, like other Sunni-populated villages along the border in the northern Akkar province, is deeply supportive of the Syrian revolution and shelters refugees and Free Syrian Army militants alike. The villages in the area have been subjected to Syrian artillery shelling on a near nightly basis since May. Further east along the border lies the Shiite-populated northern Bekaa Valley, an area of strong support for Hizbullah, an ally of the Assad regime. Some 25 small villages populated by Lebanese Shiites have been the focus of repeated clashes pitting the FSA against Syrian troops backed by Hizbullah.
2012-12-27 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive