Networks of Syrian fighters in North Lebanon are reshaping the lay of the land. From Syrian logistics cells to clandestine arms routes, new political realities are changing how Lebanese navigate their country.
In Lebanon, saying you were stopped by an armed Palestinian would imply that you entered a camp under the control of a Palestinian faction. But to say that you were stopped by an armed Syrian fighter – in Tripoli, this month, years after the withdrawal of the Syrian army – is a whole other matter.
It gets even more problematic when this armed fighter asked you to change your destination, which was entirely in Lebanon, after noticing your camera.
These new arrangements suggest that the area is headed toward a new phase that security officials like to compare to the days when Palestinian resistance operations in Lebanon earned the country the moniker, Fatah Land.
http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/drawing-new-map-north-lebanon-syrian-fighters-included