Antioch, Turkey, Aug 19, 2012 / 16:04 pm
Patriarch Bechara Boutros Rai of Antioch, the head of the Maronite Catholic Church, has warned that the armed conflict in Syria is affecting neighboring Lebanon and could trigger a major conflict in the country.
"The civil war in Syria between the Sunni majority and the Alawite minority has already begun to have an impact on the Sunnis and Alawites in north Lebanon, in Tripoli and Akkar," he told Aid to the Church in Need.
The Lebanese are split into "supporters of the Assad regime and supporters of the opposition," he said. The ongoing political conflict between Lebanon's anti-Assad Sunnis and the pro-Assad Shiites will "become more pronounced due to the events in Syria."
In response, he urged Lebanese Christians to become "more united" and meet their responsibilities.