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Aarsal in many ways illustrates the Syrian conflict's transformation from an uprising against an authoritarian regime into a sectarian civil war with reverberations around the region.
Lebanon's army said it lost 16 soldiers in a battle with gunmen loyal to Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir, a once-obscure Salafi cleric who has seen his profile rise by verbally attacking Hezbollah.
Hezbollah fighters are assisting Syria's government in taking on rebels across the country.
Hezbollah-backed "popular committees" are assisting in decisive Syrian battles and hardening sectarian tensions in Lebanon.
Sectarian violence in Lebanon may resemble Syria's conflict, but residents say the real problems are poverty and neglect.
Kidnapping for ransom is one of the few forms of economic activity to flourish here as the civil war in neighboring Syria cripples the tourism industry and erodes the authority of the state.
The Syrian conflict, largely being fought between Sunnis and Alawites an offshoot of Shiite Islam to which Syrian President Bashar al-Assad belongs has brought new pressure on the festering resentments in Lebanon.