Bordering on the Impossible: Securing Lebanon’s Borders with Syria

Why are Lebanese and international efforts failing to stem the flow of weapons into Lebanon? Does the Lebanese government lack the capacity, or the will, to control its borders? This article, by the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, argues that Hizbullah’s political ascendancy and its re-emergence as the party of resistance will ensure Hizbullah retains an armed capacity. Furthermore, the Lebanese government, regional governments and the UN are reluctant to disarm the resistance. This will hamper efforts to increase Lebanon’s border monitoring capacity.

The challenges of securing Lebanon’s 320km border with Syria are huge. Despite denials by the Syrian government, significant amounts of weapons and munitions have been smuggled into Lebanon from Syria. A recent border assessment by the UN’s Lebanon Independent Border Assessment Team (LIBAT) stated that the level of cooperation and coordination was low, particularly in terms of inter-agency information sharing and joint planning. Furthermore, Lebanese border management was focused more on territorial defence than the establishment of border surveillance to prevent smuggling.