LEBANON, as always seems the case, is treading on very thin ice these days as Sunni Muslim and Alawites in Tripoli have taken up arms against one another, furthering an ages-old conflict which serves the sovereign nation of Lebanon no worthwhile purpose. The Alawites, of course, comprise the general background of the ruling family of Syria, a country which in many ways considers Lebanon something of an appendage of itself. The spasms of violence in the city since late June have been linked to lingering disputes between the Sunni-led parliamentary majority bloc and a rival alliance led by Shi'ite Hezbollah, which is close to Alawite groups in the north. Lebanese army troops have been deployed to Tripoli to bring the fighting under control but reports coming from the city have said that armed militants from both the warring camps are still wandering the streets in full view of the soldiers. Military commanders in charge of the troops initially expressed reluctance about opening fire in the neighborhoods they are patrolling as they are densely populated with civilian non-combatants even though there have been official pronouncements that the army will respond to any sources of gunfire and detain any gunmen regardless of their affiliation. It is profoundly important that the central government of Lebanon intervene quickly and firmly to put a halt to the violence as soon as possible. The Qatar accords were meant to extinguish these types of flare-ups by granting sovereign authority to the Lebanese central government. If the situation in Tripoli were to veer out of control, neutralizing the forces of the national government, it would only serve to open the door to a stronger Hezbollah's military presence nationwide and lure Syria back into a position as a major powerbroker in the country. The troubles in Lebanon are far from over, but the last thing the country needs is an increased Syrian presence in its everyday affairs. __
