:00:08. > :00:10.on-going Syrian civil war is destabilising Lebanon. With
:00:10. > :00:19.sectarian tensions escalating across the country, Nahed Abouzeid
:00:19. > :00:25.investigates a Lebanon teetering on the brink of an intra-religious war.
:00:25. > :00:33.Last month as the laugh admitted to sending fighters across the border
:00:33. > :00:43.to battle the rebels inside Syria. This has raised sectarian tensions
:00:43. > :00:49.
:00:49. > :00:59.in Lebanon on the crisis levels. Communities are arming themselves in
:00:59. > :01:03.
:01:03. > :01:11.preparation for the coming storm. Levin on once seen as one of the
:01:11. > :01:21.world 's premier holiday destinations is now teetering on the
:01:21. > :01:46.
:01:46. > :01:49.brink of disaster. I was born and grew up in Lebanon on. Back then,
:01:49. > :01:59.the country was fighting a vicious civil war between Christians and
:01:59. > :02:02.
:02:02. > :02:12.muscle is. Muslins. It lasted 15 years and 11 has rebuilt itself and
:02:12. > :02:13.
:02:13. > :02:18.they route is seen is the Paris of the middle east. Now the civil war
:02:18. > :02:28.in Syria is spilling across the border threatening to plunge Levin
:02:28. > :02:38.
:02:38. > :02:48.on into chaos again -- Levin on. -- Levin on. -- nine. Sectarian
:02:48. > :02:53.
:02:53. > :03:03.violence between you slam is the nightmare. You slam. You slam. Is
:03:03. > :03:05.
:03:05. > :03:15.politics and violence within its neighbours. This is the frontier
:03:15. > :03:18.
:03:18. > :03:23.town in Syria. Until recently it was a rebel stronghold attracting anti-
:03:23. > :03:30.Islamic militants from across the world. Now it is devastated and
:03:30. > :03:40.abandoned. Behind me is the administrative director at of this
:03:40. > :03:40.
:03:40. > :03:46.district. It stands with this to the disruption that the area has seen.
:03:46. > :03:53.In June this year the Syrian regime launched a successful attack to
:03:53. > :04:00.recapture the town from the rebels. Alongside government troops there
:04:00. > :04:06.were fighters from the Lebanese Shi'ite organisation Hezbollah.
:04:06. > :04:12.Fighting the rebels was a new chapter for the organisation which
:04:12. > :04:18.had originally been configured for confronting Israel. Some crusaders
:04:19. > :04:24.were locals saying that under the rebels the town had become a magnet
:04:24. > :04:28.for foreign jihad tests and Islamic militants believed in fighting a
:04:28. > :04:38.holy war and so they appreciate Hezbollah and its involvement to win
:04:38. > :05:12.
:05:12. > :05:19.undisguised intervention from Hezbollah fighters caused a
:05:19. > :05:23.sectarian backlash across the border in Lebanon on. These refugees from
:05:23. > :05:27.Syria came from this small town following the battle for leading for
:05:27. > :05:33.their lives now living in squalor just inside the Lebanese northern
:05:33. > :05:43.border. They are furious with Hezbollah for the interference
:05:43. > :06:02.
:06:02. > :06:12.used to admire Hezbollah for resisting Israel but now sees their
:06:12. > :06:47.
:06:47. > :06:54.see smoke rising from the Syrian side with the Government forces
:06:54. > :06:59.shelling a few targets a few miles away. There would be no doubt more
:06:59. > :07:08.dead and more refugees as a result. Both sides in this conflict pay a
:07:08. > :07:14.heavy price. This is the kind of Valley in eastern Levin on a few
:07:14. > :07:24.miles away from the border. He was in his 20s when he died fighting for
:07:24. > :07:27.
:07:27. > :07:31.as colour. These posters memorise his death. -- commemorate his death.
:07:31. > :07:41.His brother consoled himself with the idea that his brother paid the
:07:41. > :07:41.
:07:41. > :08:31.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds
:08:31. > :08:41.ultimate price so that the rest of call the dead martyrs. There is
:08:41. > :09:04.
:09:04. > :09:10.don't often speak but after negotiations and contact in them I
:09:10. > :09:20.met one who had fought and was prepared to talk as long as we heed
:09:20. > :09:52.
:09:53. > :09:59.his identity saying it was a bitter fighting Syria -- has blah -- has
:09:59. > :10:05.blah -- Hezbollah, they have been firing rockets into Lebanese
:10:05. > :10:15.territory in revenge for the intervention. This allegedly shows
:10:15. > :10:16.
:10:16. > :10:25.them in action. I was taken by them to the site of what they said was a
:10:25. > :10:30.rocket strike in this valley. This olive grove had been set on fire by
:10:30. > :10:40.rockets and they said other strikes have killed people including a young
:10:40. > :10:41.
:10:41. > :10:51.woman. Her father told me he holds Sunni extremist responsible for the
:10:51. > :10:51.
:10:51. > :11:45.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds
:11:45. > :11:49.death of his daughter. He strongly but the Shia Muslims here are
:11:49. > :11:55.Hezbollah supporters but also affiliated with tribes and clans who
:11:55. > :11:59.have been feuding with the local Sunni Muslims for years. Just how
:11:59. > :12:07.volatile things can get became apparent when we tried to film a
:12:07. > :12:11.funeral procession of a Hezbollah supporter after he suffered. We were
:12:12. > :12:18.told it would be OK to take teachers but things turned ugly and our
:12:18. > :12:25.cameraman was attacked. Some of the gunmen jumped out of their cars and
:12:25. > :12:35.roughed up the cameraman and talk one of the memory card is. That
:12:35. > :12:37.
:12:37. > :12:44.shows how tense this area can be. Things are looking grim in the north
:12:44. > :12:50.of Lebanon but my next destination was Tripoli which has seen a
:12:50. > :13:00.constant stream of armed clashes which predate or its self. Most of
:13:00. > :13:04.the population in Tripoli are Sunni Muslims and support the rebels but
:13:04. > :13:11.Alawite is a crowded onto a hilltop community. They are loyal to the
:13:11. > :13:19.regime in Damascus. We are now driving along the frontline between
:13:19. > :13:26.two warring communities. There's two of them, the Alawite is on the other
:13:26. > :13:35.is the majority of the Saudi inhabitants. In this street, Syria
:13:36. > :13:45.Street, the one issue that is dividing Lebanon. This is what it
:13:46. > :13:46.
:13:46. > :13:53.looks like when the Sunnis and the Alawite is go to war. The gunmen are
:13:53. > :14:00.shooting up the hill and the Alawite is supporting President al-Assad are
:14:00. > :14:09.shooting at them. The hapless Lebanese army is supposed to be
:14:09. > :14:16.keeping the peace. My guide in this district is a local preacher and a
:14:16. > :14:26.gunmen who runs his own mission. He blames the supporters of resident
:14:26. > :14:26.
:14:26. > :15:28.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds
:15:28. > :15:38.a whole generation. This man says his son is following a whole new
:15:38. > :16:03.
:16:03. > :16:07.the pro- Asad Alawite community mirror the neighbour's fears. This
:16:07. > :16:17.man has been a militia fighter since the 1970s. He see things only
:16:17. > :16:50.
:16:50. > :16:58.communities are under arms. Street protest, rate the falling on both
:16:58. > :17:03.sides. Fighting your neighbours has become a way of life here. These
:17:03. > :17:07.gunmen might look intimidating, but they are marked simply to protect
:17:07. > :17:15.their identities. They are ordinary men with normal jobs and families at
:17:15. > :17:20.home. But many local men feel they have no option but to pick up arms
:17:20. > :17:28.to defend their communities, because the forces of law and order
:17:28. > :17:32.seemingly cannot do so. It is a vicious circle. This is one of the
:17:32. > :17:37.many frontlines between two warring communities. But for someone like
:17:37. > :17:47.me, who has lived through 70 years of war during the civil war in
:17:47. > :17:51.
:17:51. > :17:55.Lebanon on, it is all coming back. It actually feels a scary. Suddenly,
:17:55. > :17:58.we learn from Twitter that more clashes has broken up in trip that
:17:59. > :18:05.have broken up in Tripoli. In a completely different part of the
:18:05. > :18:15.city. The instability was spreading. A local man offered to guide us into
:18:15. > :18:18.
:18:18. > :18:28.combat zone. Say are fighting inside. Normally busy streets were
:18:28. > :18:38.
:18:38. > :18:44.empty. Locals watched anxiously from to dangerous to pursue. Instead, the
:18:44. > :18:54.Lebanese army put on a show of strength. Be managed to contain the
:18:54. > :19:12.
:19:12. > :19:15.across the country. In this southern Lebanese city, a cynic -- a Sunni
:19:15. > :19:25.Islamist group was holding a rally and concert in aid of the Syrian
:19:25. > :19:27.
:19:27. > :19:31.rebels. This is my city. I grew up here. Several years ago, this city
:19:31. > :19:41.was the melting pot of all religious communities living together. I went
:19:41. > :19:41.
:19:41. > :19:45.to school with Jews, Christians, Muslims, Sunni, Shi'ites. This is
:19:45. > :19:51.the first time I have seen one particular religious group rally so
:19:51. > :19:59.many people to support the cause of the Syrian revolution. May be in
:19:59. > :20:05.those years, something has changed in this city. Speakers denounced
:20:05. > :20:11.Hezbollah and sang in praise of the Syrian rebels. One of the organisers
:20:11. > :20:21.summed up the feelings of many here. It was Hezbollah's involvement
:20:21. > :20:21.
:20:21. > :21:01.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds
:21:01. > :21:09.in Syria that was immobilising elements present in the city. This
:21:09. > :21:15.city is also where I caught up with this man. And outspoken in anti-
:21:15. > :21:19.Hezbollah Sunni cleric. When I met him, he told me that his mosque was
:21:19. > :21:29.being spied on and threatened by Hezbollah agents based in some
:21:29. > :22:02.
:22:02. > :22:11.nearby flats. He had to go it turned out, he knew something the
:22:12. > :22:16.rest of us did not. One week after giving this interview, his gunmen at
:22:17. > :22:26.TAC the Lebanese army. He took to social media, calling for his
:22:27. > :22:45.
:22:45. > :22:49.followers to help defend his people After two days of heavy fighting, at
:22:49. > :22:55.least 18 Lebanese soldiers were killed, along with about 40 of his
:22:55. > :23:00.gunmen. He was on the run. His mosque was destroyed and his country
:23:00. > :23:10.was looking closer than ever to a renewed civil war. But Hezbollah
:23:10. > :23:38.
:23:38. > :23:44.supporters say their side did not Teran is and is used to mobilise and
:23:44. > :23:53.control communities. -- sectarianism. It can easily spin out
:23:53. > :24:01.of control. Lebanon on is an old society. Many people have access to
:24:01. > :24:06.guns and heavy weapons. It is easy to obtain more. We are on our way to
:24:06. > :24:10.meet an arms dealer in Beirut. It is extremely high risk. But as long as
:24:10. > :24:20.there is demand, there would always be people like him to provide the
:24:20. > :24:20.
:24:20. > :25:14.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 50 seconds
:25:14. > :25:19.regional politics. Syria, the country's against neighbour, remains
:25:20. > :25:25.the key to Lebanon on's fate. The civil war is passing its shadow
:25:25. > :25:31.across the entire Middle East. As the same sun sets over Beirut and