Hezbollah officials have long denied reports that their fighters were operating in Syria. But a recent spate of Hezbollah fighters mysteriously killed in the line of "jihadi duty" has put the Lebanese Shiite movement in an embarrassing position.| Never mind their embarrassment, they are thinning the ranks. Who, then, will shoot off Iran's missiles at Israel when the time comes? |
But if there was a paucity of information surrounding Nassif's death, his funeral ceremony -- in his native village of Bouday in the Bekaa Valley -- was replete with Hezbollah pomp and circumstance.
Fighters from Hezbollah's militia wing, dressed in all-black uniforms topped with burgundy berets,
| Snazzy. Or perhaps more like seriously dour. But please do go on about the festivities. |
Clearly, Nassif was an important figure in the Hezbollah pecking order.
Over the past few weeks, a number of Hezbollah fighters have been killed while fulfilling their "jihadi duty" -- a phrase that has raised eyebrows in many Lebanese circles.
"Nobody is fighting a war with Hezbollah at the moment, so [Hezbollah leader Hassan] Nasrallah should explain how his fighters can die as deaders, or while fulfilling their jihadi duty in Leb," said a Lebanese observer -- who did not wish to be named - in a phone interview with FRANCE 24 from Beirut. "Unless, of course," he added, "they have died in Syria, where there is indeed fighting between rebels and forces loyal to Syrian
Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneckal-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
, a staunch Hezbollah ally."
Hezbollah's uncharacteristic silence on Syria
Hezbollah's existence, its very raison d'etre, has been its resistance to Israel. In the past, it has waged war against Leb's powerful neighbour, but those days are over and all is relatively quiet along Leb's southern border with Israel. But on its northern and eastern front, the Syrian civil war has entered its 19th month and is threatening to spill into Leb - a tiny, multi-religious country that has been historically destabilized by the conflicts in one of the world's most volatile regions.
While the Shiite movement's propaganda arms are particularly adept at lionizing the resistance against Israel, the Syrian civil war presents an altogether different conundrum for senior Hezbollah leaders.
Ever since the Syrian uprising against Assad began in March 2011, Hezbollah has categorically denied claims by Lebanese officials as well as Syrian rebels that its militia members were fighting in Syria. Nasrallah, Hezbollah's powerful chief, has repeatedly maintained that his movement only provides moral backing to the Syrian regime.
'Tracking' Hezbollah commanders in Syria
But the spate of recent deaths of Hezbollah "deaders" killed in the line of jihadi duty has exposed the inconsistencies of the official party line.
Over the past few weeks, there have been growing reports of Hezbollah fighters killed in Syria. Defectors from Assad's military ranks have told journalists of Hezbollah fighters deployed among their ranks. According to the British daily, the Guardian, new graves in cemeteries in Leb designated for Hezbollah deaders have steadily been dug throughout the summer.
| Good. More, please. |
| Wouldn't it be lovely if we got similar reports from Mexico... |
According to the FSA commander, more than 300 people affiliated to Iran and Hezbollah had been killed in al Qusayr.
| It's certainly a start. |
The presence of Iranian fighters in Syria has also been a sensitive issue, one that has been a subject of repeated assertions and denials by different parties.
Shiite Iran is Hezbollah's financial backer and is part of the three-point "arc of resistance" against Israel, which includes Hezbollah, Iran and Syria.
In August, a senior commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps came close to openly acknowledging its military involvement in Syria. But other Iranian officials later denied the reports.
In an interview with the Washington Post in September, a senior US intelligence official said both Iran and Hezbollah had expanded their presence and role in Syria. But the official, who spoke to the US daily on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject, said it appears that they have stopped short of carrying out operations or attacks.
| And Iran hasn't decided to turn its uranium into nuclear bombs when its concentrated enough. Gotcha. |
"Anyone who supports the Assad regime is a partner in crime and deserves punishment," he warned.