LEBANON, SYRIA - MILITANTS IN ARSAL, LEBANON

Militants set Lebanese policemen free to solicit cease-fire talks  August 05, 2014, Tuesday/ 14:54:20/ AP / REUTERS / / BEIRUT  Hard-line militants, who seized the Lebanese town of Arsal at the weekend, released three policemen on Tuesday as a “goodwill gesture” to allow Sunni Muslim clerics to broker a deal to end four days of fighting near the Syrian border.  At least 16 Lebanese soldiers and dozens of civilians and militants have been killed in the fighting in Arsal in the most serious spillover yet in three years of civil war in Syria.  The militants are still believed to be holding about 40 members of the security forces - both soldiers and policemen.   ...  Lebanese security officials say the fighters include members of al-Qaeda's Syria branch, the Nusra Front, and an al-Qaeda splinter group, the Islamic State, which has seized swathes of land in Syria and Iraq.  Although Lebanon - a country of about 4 million, bordering Israel - has avoided the full-scale war afflicting Syria and Iraq, regional conflicts have rekindled decades-old tensions. Tripoli [Libya] has seen frequent clashes between local Sunni Muslims and members of the Shiite-derived Alawite minority, and on Monday night fighting broke out after news that several Sunni clerics had been wounded as they entered Arsal to try to broker a ceasefire between the army and the militants.  Men blocked several Tripoli roads on Tuesday, and most shops were closed and streets empty after militants opened fire on a bus carrying soldiers, wounding at least six. ...  While Lebanon has officially tried to distance itself from Syria's conflict, its powerful Shiite movement Hezbollah has sent fighters to aid President Bashar al-Assad, an Alawite. Assad, like Hezbollah, is backed by Shiite power Iran.  The rebels fighting to overthrow Assad are overwhelmingly Sunni and have received support from regional Sunni powers including Saudi Arabia. Rocket fire, suicide attacks and gun battles connected to Syria's war have plagued Lebanon and the conflict has worsened Lebanon's perennial political deadlock between officials divided largely along sectarian lines.  More than 170,000 people have been killed in Syria's war, which started in 2011 as a peaceful protest movement, then degenerated into civil war after a government crackdown.  Violence went on unabated in Syria, where air strikes at the weekend in Damascus killed at least 64 people, a monitoring group said. Fighting regularly claims more than 150 lives a day.  EXTRACTS ONLY - FULL @ TODAY'S ZAMAN  - HERE

* Fighters challenging the Lebanese security forces include:

1. al-Qaeda (Syria branch)
2. al-Nusra Front (aka al-Jabhat an Nusra); and
3. Islamic State (al-Qaeda splinter group)

which have been seizing territory in both Syria and Iraq.

[ Tripoli, Libya - Sunni vs Shiite-derived  (Alawite) minority ]

Arsal, Lebanon (border town):


* Militants holding 40 - soldiers and police.
* 16 Lebanese soldiers killed
* Dozens civilians and militants killed

* Militants release x3 policemen (Sunni clerics to mediate between parties)



Lebanon -  powerful Shiite movement (Hezbollah)

President Assad (Syria) is also Shiite (Alawite)

Rebels in Syria seeking to overthrow Assad are mainly Sunni
(and rebels are backed by other countries, including Saudi Arabia).

Hezbollah have sent fighters to help Assad in Syria

Hezbollah and Assad (both Shiite) are helped by IRAN.

Iran official religion is:  Shia Islam.

170,000 killed in Syria since 2011