Hezbollah emerged alarmingly strong from Lebanon's parliamentary elections, writes Kersten Knipp. The party is likely to aggravate tensions in the Middle East and take a whole country hostage with its policies.
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Supporters of Hezbollah drive in the city of Nabatieh in southern Lebanon on Monday's election dayImage: Getty Images/AFP/M. Zayyat
Life is strange sometimes. The war in Syria, in which Lebanon's political and paramilitary party Hezbollah has a hand, affects Lebanon as well. And yet voters there expect Hezbollah – of all groups – to be able to deal with the consequences.
It looks like the "Party of Allah," as Hezbollah translates in English, is now supposed to clear up the chaos that it had a large part in creating in the first place. The party is expected to find solutions for the problems that Lebanon faces mostly because of the 1.5 million Syrian refugees it now houses.
Lebanese Defense Minister discusses controlling Hezbollah
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On issues as diverse as housing, food, and the labor market, Lebanon – with its population of roughly six million people – is in no way equipped to deal with such a large number of refugees. By now tens of thousands of Syrians have left Lebanon again, but the UN Refugee Agency recently expressed doubt that they did so voluntarily.
Sure, many people probably voted for Hezbollah hoping the group could put a damper on the corruption that is running rampant in their country. But the main problem is the refugee influx. But in that respect, the Lebanese have put the fox in charge of guarding the henhouse. Most Syrians haven't left their country primarily because of jihadist terror militias like the "Islamic State." They fled the Assad regime, which Hezbollah is supporting with thousands of fighters.
Comrades bearing the image of Hezbollah party leader Hassan Nasrallah stand by the coffin of a fallen Hezbollah soldier killed during battle in Syria in 2016Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M. Zaatari
Iran's protege
Hezbollah also stands for another dark development in the Middle East. The party is beholden to Iran, from which it receives up to 800 million dollars (€671 million) every year. Obviously Iran isn't spending that much money for nothing. Hezbollah has to deliver – by making headway in Israel's direction for the mullah regime.
A large number of Lebanese voters sided with a party that – to put it mildly – hasn't exactly been famous for constructive foreign policy. On the contrary: the party's marches in its strongholds, featuring many children participating in uniform, give you the impression that Hezbollah is advancing a giant ideological project. And there's good reason to doubt that it'll have a happy ending.
Some Israeli politicians have already declared they consider Hezbollah and Lebanon as one and the same from now on. You could say that the Lebanese turned themselves into hostages of their biggest militia, whose triumph is bad news for the region.
Syria's civil war erupted out of the Arab Spring protests that swept much of the Middle East and North Africa in 2011. The conflict has since drawn in multiple warring factions from around the world.
Image: Atta Kenare/AFP/Getty Images
War with no end
Syria has been engulfed in a devastating civil war since 2011 after Syrian President Bashar Assad lost control over large parts of the country to multiple revolutionary groups. The conflict has since drawn in foreign powers and brought misery and death to Syrians.
Image: picture alliance/abaca/A. Al-Bushy
The dictator
Syria's army, officially known as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA), is loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and is fighting to restore the president's rule over the entire country. The SAA has been fighting alongside a number of pro-Assad militias such as the National Defense Force and has cooperated with military advisors from Russia and Iran, which back Assad.
Turkey, which is also part of the US-led coalition against IS, has actively supported rebels opposed to Assad. It has a tense relationship with its American allies over US cooperation with Kurdish fighters, who Ankara says are linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighting in Turkey. Turkey has launched multiple military offensives targeting Kurdish militias.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/L. Pitarakis
The eastern guardian
The Kremlin has proven to be a powerful friend to Assad. Russian air power and ground troops officially joined the fight in September 2015 after years of supplying the Syrian army. Moscow has come under fire from the international community for the high number of civilian casualties during its airstrikes. However, Russia's intervention turned the tide in war in favor of Assad.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Tass/M. Metzel
The western allies
A US-led coalition of more than 50 countries, including Germany, began targeting IS and other terrorist targets with airstrikes in late 2014. The anti-IS coalition has dealt major setbacks to the militant group. The US has more than a thousand special forces in the country backing the Syrian Democratic Forces.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo/A.Brandon
The rebels
The Free Syrian Army grew out of protests against the Assad regime that eventually turned violent. Along with other non-jihadist rebel groups, it seeks the ouster of President Assad and democratic elections. After suffering a number of defeats, many of its members defected to hardline militant groups. It garnered some support from the US and Turkey, but its strength has been greatly diminished.
Image: Reuters
The resistance
Fighting between Syrian Kurds and Islamists has become its own conflict. The US-led coalition against the "Islamic State" has backed the Syrian Democratic Forces, an alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The Kurdish YPG militia is the main component of the SDF. The Kurds have had a tacit understanding with Assad.
Image: Getty Images/A. Sik
The new jihadists
"Islamic State" (IS) took advantage of regional chaos to capture vast swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria in 2014. Seeking to establish its own "caliphate," IS has become infamous for its fundamentalist brand of Islam and its mass atrocities. IS is on the brink of defeat after the US and Russia led separate military campaigns against the militant group.
Image: picture alliance/AP Photo
The old jihadists
IS is not the only terrorist group that has ravaged Syria. A number of jihadist militant groups are fighting in the conflict, warring against various rebel factions and the Assad regime. One of the main jihadist factions is Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which controls most of Idlib province and has ties with al-Qaeda.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/Nusra Front on Twitter
The Persian shadow
Iran has supported Syria, its only Arab ally, for decades. Eager to maintain its ally, Tehran has provided Damascus with strategic assistance, military training and ground troops when the conflict emerged in 2011. The Iran-backed Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah also supports the Assad regime, fighting alongside Iranian forces and paramilitary groups in the country.
