Report: Rift in Hezbollah Over Involvement in Syrian War

Some See Fight for Assad as Too Costly

With Hezbollah fighters suffering growing casualties in Homs and Damascus, unconfirmed reports are that there is a rift within the movement over exactly what their role in the ongoing Syrian Civil War should be.

Some people, including families of fighters deployed to Syria, are arguing that the militia’s focus should be on protecting Shi’ite religious sites in Syria as opposed to fighting on behalf of the Assad government against the rebels.

With Hezbollah’s age-old ties to Assad and the historically broad influence Syria has on Lebanon, there is fear among others in the group that Assad falling in favor of a Sunni Islamist government would be an “existential” threat to Hezbollah.

Some are downplaying the significance of the report, however, noting that it was broken by pro-rebel sources, and that they might be exaggerating the divide in hopes of undermining the group’s confidence.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.