Relations between Lebanon and Syria remain strained

• Lebanon and Syria are facing tensions regarding relations following the fall of Assad.
• Incidents on the border resulted in the deaths of civilians and military personnel.
• Problems with refugees and those involved in political connections are causing strained relations.

Throughout the last year, significant incidents have occurred on both sides of the Lebanon-Syria border. Among them was a rapid assault operation by Islamic insurgents in Syria, which led to the fall of long-time President Bashar Assad and the formation of a new government in Damascus.

In Lebanon, a military operation with Israel seriously weakened Hezbollah, the Shiite military group that supports Assad. As a result, a fragile peace agreement was reached with the mediation of the U.S.

Despite the fall of 54-year rule of Assad, relations between Beirut and Damascus remain strained, as they did before, especially since Syria for a long time did not recognize Lebanon as an independent state.

Recent incidents on the border resulted in the deaths and injuries of many people, including a four-year-old girl. Beirut and Damascus partially coordinate their actions regarding security on the border, but attempts to restore political relations are ongoing. Despite the involvement of two Lebanese officials in Syria, no Syrian official has returned to Lebanon.

Many Syrians find themselves under the scrutiny of Hezbollah, which plays a role in the ongoing civil war in Syria on Assad's side. After the fall of the Assad regime, Lebanese are facing attacks from Syrian Islamic militants.

Lebanon has established new restrictions on the entry of Syrians, as well as on the entry of Lebanese into Syria. Lebanese fear that Damascus may attempt to reassert control over Lebanon.

Relations between the countries are complicated by the issue of nearly 200,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon, of which 80,000 are detained for attacks, many of them without trial. Syria demands their return for the continuation of their punishment, but Lebanon has no intention of releasing them.

In addition, Lebanon demands the return of Syrian funds, seized in Lebanese banks.

Recent incidents on the border occurred in Berzani, where Syrian authorities announced that Hezbollah members crossed the border and killed three Syrian soldiers. The Lebanese government prohibits Hezbollah's involvement in these incidents.

Recently, the ministers of Lebanon and Syria signed an agreement on the demarcation of the border and improving coordination. Analysts believe that an important step will be joint work on enhancing security on the border.

Radwan Ziadah, a senior researcher at the Arab Center in Washington, believes that the best approach will be to address the problem separately, rather than in a package deal.

Tags: Middle East/Politics