Summaqiyyeh, a village in north Lebanon of roughly 2,100 people that is split almost evenly between Alawite and Sunni residents, is in several ways emblematic of the border settlements of the Akkar region. Illicit cross-border trade has served, in Summaqiyyeh and other mixed Alawite-Sunni villages, as a guarantor of social harmony. It has done this by creating an economic interdependency between Alawites and Sunnis, generating a shared interest in communal amity, and encouraging a practical ethic of mutual civic obligation, all in a marginalized village and region. Yet an influx of Syrian Alawites fleeing sectarian violence by government-affiliated groups in their country in the spring of 2025, the near-absence of the Lebanese state in Akkar, and external pressure on Syria and Lebanon to crack down on cross-border smuggling are together placing great strain on the region’s relative calm. The Lebanese government, having had to deal with a particularly destructive Israeli military onslaught in the spring of 2026, lacks the means to address the north’s problems, and may have to seek funding and other support from abroad.
This article was first published on the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center website.