Fears as Islamist fighters flock to Lebanon | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR
►http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2014/Mar-22/251028-fears-as-islamist-fighters-flock-to-lebanon.ashx#axzz2wiVCkdoS
According to information from Salafist activist sources in north Lebanon, a large number of Lebanese fighters from #Jund_al-Sham and their families – believed to number around 1,000 – survived a secondary Syrian army ambush near the border area of Bqaiaa.
Locals fear that the presence of Syrian fighters along with defeated Lebanese militants could stoke sectarian tensions at a time when the country’s northern capital, #Tripoli, is already the stage for heavy clashes between supporters and opponents of Syria’s President Bashar Assad.
When contacted by The Daily Star, several residents said that they were very afraid of the possible consequences but were too scared to elaborate further.
North Lebanon residents fear that fighters returning from Syria will have been imbued with radical, fundamentalist beliefs, gained extensive fighting experience in the field and will possess a readiness to both kill and die for their cause. Jund al-Sham is close to the extremist Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS) and the Nusra Front and looks down upon sheikhs who call for moderation.