Lebanon (all aspects)

[davidbfpo]

A fascinating, horrible Vice documentary from Tripoli, Lebanon's second city which illustrates how a city - in places - has become the fiefdom of the new warlords, barons et al:https://news.vice.com/video/the-warlords-of-tripoli

The Vice summary:

The war in Syria is dragging neighboring Lebanon to the edge of the abyss, and nowhere is the growing chaos more stark than in the second city of Tripoli. Sunni militants aligned with the Syrian rebels frequently clash with fighters from the city's encircled Alawite minority, who support the Assad regime, in bitter street fighting the country's weak government is powerless to stop. With the rule of law no longer in effect in Tripoli, warlords like Sunni commander Ziad Allouki are now the city's real rulers, so VICE hung out with him and his fighters for a week to discover why they're fighting, and whether the country really is on the brink of civil war.

I know the politics and human terrain of the Lebanon are complex. In some of the interviews the warlords explain all too well, including the fact the Sunnis fought Syria during its occupation and now support Bashir Assad.

The clip where the Lebanese Army arrive amidst an exchange of gunfire is horrible. The shooting stops and several trapped civilians then escape into the Sunni area, as the Army drive off a 50cal opens up on the Alawite enclave.

Shortly afterwards as night draws in the reporter leaves in a car and within minutes, if not three city blocks, is a very different city, brightly lit, people walking about and no gunfire.

There is an existing thread on the Lebanon (94 posts & 36k views):http://council.smallwarsjournal.com/...ead.php?t=2967