The Rise and Rise of Hezbollah
The Foreign Fighters Fuelling Syria's War
As the Syrian war develops in Assad's favour, the help of Shia Hezbollah fighters is shifting the balance. Whilst the civil war's sectarian issues envelope many outside Syria's borders.
"It's in defence of Lebanon", explains a Hezbollah commander. With Shia Hezbollah martyrs pitched against what they label as "Takfiria, malevolent, fanatical Sunni Jihadis". And now many Hezbollah fighters are returning back to Lebanon in body bags. However their influence in Syria is also helping fuel a power shift back to Assad. A Hezbollah fighter insists Syrian rebels are " terrorists, not men, not human beings. They are far removed from humanity". As the Syrian war catalyses the divide between Sunni and Shia Islam to worsen, Hezbollah goes from strength to strength. And with the conflict spilling over into Lebanon, a new Sunni Shia divide is set to broaden.
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