Evidence of Hezbollah in the Syrian Conflict?

A powerful Shi’ite tribe in Lebanon (The al-Meqdad clan) announced today that it has kidnapped more than 20 FSA or Free Syrian Army (The Sunni organization that I wrote about yesterday) soldiers in Beirut in response to the alleged abduction in Damascus of one of their own by members of the FSA.

The Lebanese news organization Naharnet quoted an al-Meqdad tribal leader as saying, “The family’s military wing kidnapped several Syrians. We are not afraid of anyone.”

Among those said to be abducted by the Meqdads in Lebanon within the past 24 hours was a Sunni member of the Syrian army who defected. Lebanon’s LCBI has confirmed that a former captain in President Bashar al-Assad’s army is among those abducted.

The Meqdads said they are not taking sides in the Syrian conflict, and that they “just want our son to come back to Lebanon safely.” Hassan Salim al-Meqdad was reportedly detained by the FSA on Monday. The opposition group accused the 39-year-old Lebanese national of being a member of Hezbollah.

As I have stated in previous posts, Hezbollah is a Shi’a militant group. It has a paramilitary wing that is one of the stronger militant movements within the Middle East. Hezbollah has been a recipient of military and financial assistance from Syria for years, and I have hypothesized that Hezbollah would be one group with loyalties to the Syrian regime that could stand in opposition to rebel Sunni groups in the civil war.

For more on Hezbollah and its role in the Syrian conflict, read my article here: http://nottheology.com/2012/08/02/hezbollahframework/