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Source: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/fikraforum/view/the-internal-collapse-facing-lebanons-shiites
The Internal Collapse Facing Lebanon's Shiites
(Fikra Forum-Washington Institute for Near East Policy) Hala Nasrallah - In 2013, when Hizbullah chief Hassan Nasrallah launched the group's campaign to defend the Syrian regime of Bashar Al-Assad, thousands of its fighters crossed into Syria believing that they would deliver the enemy a resounding defeat. But as the years passed, many have died in the war. Media reports of a coherent Shiite community are false. The latest municipal elections in April and May 2016 exposed the massive rift between Shiite communities and the two main parties, Hizbullah and Amal. In Baalbek, near the Syrian border, 40% of the vote went to the "Baalbek is my City" list headed by Hizbullah critic Ghaleb Yaghi.