Hezbollah and Syrian President Bashar Assad’s regime are trying to push the
Syrian conflict into Lebanon as rebel forces continue to advance, according to
sources quoted by the Now Lebanon website.
“President Bashar Assad’s
regime and Hezbollah now realize that it is impossible for them to regain
control over Syria, therefore they are looking to cancel Lebanon’s parliamentary
elections and cause security instability in Tripoli, Sidon and other regions,”
sources told Now Lebanon.
By canceling the elections, the
Hezbollah-controlled government would be able to stay in power until the Syrian
conflict dies down, said Lebanese MP Ammar Houri, who was speaking on the Voice
of Lebanon radio station on Sunday.
Houri’s Future movement is a
Sunni-dominated party led by Sa’ad Hariri and is part of the March 14 alliance,
which is opposed to the Shi’ite-dominated March 8 alliance led by
Hezbollah.
The report comes as Lebanon continues to be flooded by Syrian
refugees, a circumstance that is further destabilizing the situation.
The
number of refugees now tops 336,000 according to the Lebanese
Daily
Star.Drawing Lebanon deeper into the Syrian war, there are increasing
reports of cross-border fighting along the Lebanese-Syrian border as Sunnis and
Shi’ites move to support their respective communities.
Reflecting this,
Sheikh Naim Qassem, the deputy secretary-general of Hezbollah told the Kuwaiti
newspaper Al-Anbaa that his party supports Shi’ites living in Syrian border
communities.
“Hezbollah has an obligation to train and arm Lebanese
citizens residing in [Syria’s] Qussayr villages in order to prevent their
displacement to Lebanon,” Now Lebanon quoted him as saying.