Lebanon sees threat from Sunni militants returning from Syria

TRIPOLI, Lebanon - The black-and-white flags of al-Qaeda's wing in Syria still flutter over this impoverished city in northern Lebanon. And the anger that fueled a major clash last month involving Sunni extremists still simmers underneath a shaky calm.

The Lebanese military now controls Tripoli. But the militants who fought street-by-street battles with soldiers represent a growing challenge to the stability of this already deeply divided country.

The militants are Lebanese citizens who went to fight in Syria's civil war, assisted by money and weapons from Sunni politicians here, according to religious leaders, politicians, and military officials.

The Sunnis sympathize with the rebellion led by Syria's majority Sunnis against a government dominated by Alawites, whose faith is an offshoot of Shiite Islam.

In Syria, the young militants became radicalized by such groups as the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate, say religious leaders and politicians. Now, back in Lebanon, they are increasingly clashing with the military.

"Their goal is to turn the people against the army," said Sheik Nabil Rahim, a religious leader in Tripoli.

Attacks against the military have risen sharply over the last year in predominantly Sunni areas of northern Lebanon. In Tripoli, the militants have used mosques in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood, a Sunni-dominated area, to recruit followers and store weapons. A series of attacks led to the confrontation with the army last month. About a dozen soldiers and nearly 30 militants were killed in the fighting.

Scores of fighters were arrested, while others fled after some of the worst violence in this city in years.

Lebanon is a religiously diverse country with a Shiite plurality. The Sunni militants have attracted followers because of long-standing issues of poverty and government neglect in Sunni areas, analysts say.

In addition, many Lebanese Sunnis fume over the fact that this country's main Shiite militia, Hezbollah, is fighting in Syria to support its longtime ally, President Bashar al-Assad.

In response, local Lebanese Sunnis have offered financial assistance and arms to encourage young men here to fight in Syria against the Assad regime. Support from Persian Gulf states also has flowed through this city, with furtive arms shipments arriving by sea and then being taken overland to rebels in Syria, according to military officials, analysts, and local religious leaders.

Politicians in Tripoli make little secret of the fact that Lebanese Sunnis are playing a role in the war next door.

Said Mustafa Allouch, a member of the Future Movement party: "You can also make the same allegations against Hezbollah."