ariel
09-04-2013, 02:31 PM
NABIL MOUNZER/EPA - Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian activists wave their national flags and carry placards against threats of a military strike on Syria, in front the United Nation house in Beirut, Lebanon, on Sept. 2, 2013. Antiwar activists of women's organizations and Lebanese and Palestinian parties gathered to express rejection of the threats of aggression against Syria.
BEIRUT — As Syria holds its breath for potential U.S.-led military strikes, its fragile neighbor Lebanon is bracing for the fallout.
The threat of cruise-missile strikes across the border brings another element of uncertainty for a country whose politics are closely intertwined with those of its larger neighbor and that has been attempting to cling to peace since the Syrian conflict began 21 / 2 years ago.
.
The pressures on Lebanon, a country that has been without a government since March amid sectarian wrangling, are multifold. Its economy has suffered, sectarian fault lines have been agitated, and kidnappings, rocket attacks and clashes increasingly punctuate daily life. Over the past month, tit-for-tat bombings have joined the fray, with bomb attacks on two mosques in the northern city of Tripoli on Friday killing more than 40 people in the worst bombing incident since the Lebanese civil war.
Adding to concerns is how the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah might react to a cruise missile strike on the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, its ally. A strike launched from ships in the eastern Mediterranean could cross over Lebanon — though Adnan Mansour, the caretaker foreign minister, has told local media that the country’s airspace will not be open for use.
Still, amid the uncertainty, some airlines have adjusted their schedules to avoid night flights to Beirut.
In the background is the constant stream of refugees, straining Lebanon’s already-creaking infrastructure and competing for scarce work. The number of Syrian refugees is poised to cross the 2 million mark — the United Nations says that more than 700,000 of them are in Lebanon, while the government puts the number at well over 1 million, making at least one in every five people in the country a Syrian national.
Lebanese officials have expressed concern that any airstrikes will send another wave of Syrians over the border, with increasing numbers already crossing over in anticipation of attacks.
“This has already gone beyond our capacity, and we’ve reached a very dangerous level of tension between refugees and host communities in every single spot in this country,” said Ramzi Naaman, coordinator of Lebanon’s refugee response plan.
Naaman said new border restrictions have been imposed to curb the flow of refugees, with immigration officials being asked to ascertain whether those crossing are fleeing from areas of violence.
“This is a country that is politically torn,” he said. “These people are going into the labor market, which is causing a lot of competition. These are the perfect ingredients for a disaster.”
On highways and intersections across Beirut, Syrians cluster in the early mornings, hoping to find work. Some have been coming to Lebanon for years; others are newly displaced by violence. They complain that they are subject to curfews that do not apply to locals and that work is increasingly difficult to come by.
“I’ve been coming here for 15 years, and this is the hardest time I’ve known,” Abu Ali, a 45-year-old from Deir al-Zour, said as he waited on a highway where motorists stop to pick up casual workers for $15 or $20 a day. “A year ago we thought it was bad, but now it’s harder. This week there’s been nothing. Last week as well.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/threat-of-us-led-missile-strikes-in-syria-add-to-lebanon-uncertainty/2013/09/02/cdbaba12-1402-11e3-b220-2c950c7f3263_story.html
BEIRUT — As Syria holds its breath for potential U.S.-led military strikes, its fragile neighbor Lebanon is bracing for the fallout.
The threat of cruise-missile strikes across the border brings another element of uncertainty for a country whose politics are closely intertwined with those of its larger neighbor and that has been attempting to cling to peace since the Syrian conflict began 21 / 2 years ago.
.
The pressures on Lebanon, a country that has been without a government since March amid sectarian wrangling, are multifold. Its economy has suffered, sectarian fault lines have been agitated, and kidnappings, rocket attacks and clashes increasingly punctuate daily life. Over the past month, tit-for-tat bombings have joined the fray, with bomb attacks on two mosques in the northern city of Tripoli on Friday killing more than 40 people in the worst bombing incident since the Lebanese civil war.
Adding to concerns is how the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah might react to a cruise missile strike on the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, its ally. A strike launched from ships in the eastern Mediterranean could cross over Lebanon — though Adnan Mansour, the caretaker foreign minister, has told local media that the country’s airspace will not be open for use.
Still, amid the uncertainty, some airlines have adjusted their schedules to avoid night flights to Beirut.
In the background is the constant stream of refugees, straining Lebanon’s already-creaking infrastructure and competing for scarce work. The number of Syrian refugees is poised to cross the 2 million mark — the United Nations says that more than 700,000 of them are in Lebanon, while the government puts the number at well over 1 million, making at least one in every five people in the country a Syrian national.
Lebanese officials have expressed concern that any airstrikes will send another wave of Syrians over the border, with increasing numbers already crossing over in anticipation of attacks.
“This has already gone beyond our capacity, and we’ve reached a very dangerous level of tension between refugees and host communities in every single spot in this country,” said Ramzi Naaman, coordinator of Lebanon’s refugee response plan.
Naaman said new border restrictions have been imposed to curb the flow of refugees, with immigration officials being asked to ascertain whether those crossing are fleeing from areas of violence.
“This is a country that is politically torn,” he said. “These people are going into the labor market, which is causing a lot of competition. These are the perfect ingredients for a disaster.”
On highways and intersections across Beirut, Syrians cluster in the early mornings, hoping to find work. Some have been coming to Lebanon for years; others are newly displaced by violence. They complain that they are subject to curfews that do not apply to locals and that work is increasingly difficult to come by.
“I’ve been coming here for 15 years, and this is the hardest time I’ve known,” Abu Ali, a 45-year-old from Deir al-Zour, said as he waited on a highway where motorists stop to pick up casual workers for $15 or $20 a day. “A year ago we thought it was bad, but now it’s harder. This week there’s been nothing. Last week as well.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/threat-of-us-led-missile-strikes-in-syria-add-to-lebanon-uncertainty/2013/09/02/cdbaba12-1402-11e3-b220-2c950c7f3263_story.html