BIREH, Lebanon - Syria’s war barreled over the border with an angry, raucous funeral Monday for an anti-Syrian cleric whose killing set off a night of deadly street battles in Beirut and raised fears that Lebanon is getting drawn into the chaos afflicting its neighbor.
The violence is a reflection of Lebanon’s political dysfunction, a legacy of years of civil war when the country became a proxy battleground for other nations. Syria had troops on the ground here for nearly 30 years until 2005 and has strong ties to Lebanon’s security services.
It was the most serious outbreak of violence in the Lebanese capital since the Syrian uprising began 15 months ago, as Lebanese Sunni groups supporting and opposing the Damascus regime fired rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns through the night. At least two people were killed and 15 were wounded.
Last week, several days of clashes sparked by the Syrian crisis killed at least eight people and wounded dozens in the northern city of Tripoli.
To many observers, it is only a matter of time before the violence in Syria infected Lebanon. The United Nations estimates the Syrian conflict has killed more than 9,000 people since March 2011, when President Bashar Assad started cracking down on a popular uprising.
“The Syrian regime is seeking to sow chaos in Lebanon,’’ Khaled Daher, a Sunni member of Parliament, said during a fiery speech Monday at the funeral for Sheik Ahmed Abdul-Wahid, the slain anti-Syrian cleric. “But we will not be scared.’’
Daher stood surrounded by Sunni clerics and armed gunmen in the northern village of Bireh, Abdul-Wahid’s hometown. Syria is visible across the border, on the other side of a green valley dotted with homes and farms.
Gunmen shouting “Down with Bashar!’’ roamed the streets ahead of the funeral procession, which drew thousands of people who fired their rifles in the air as a sign of mourning.
Abdul-Wahid and his bodyguard were gunned down Sunday by a Lebanese soldier, apparently after the men failed to stop at an army checkpoint.
The exact circumstances of the shooting remain murky, fueling already boiling tensions in Lebanon between pro- and anti-Syrian factions. The countries share a complex web of political and sectarian ties and rivalries, which can easily turn violent.
“They killed him because he supported the Syrian revolution, he was very active,’’ said Abdel-Aziz Dandal, a 45-year-old resident of Bireh. He said the cleric recently had been elected head of the local council and was expected to become the head of a regional council.
On Monday, the police commander, Major General Ashraf Rifi, toured Beirut’s Tariq Jadidah neighborhood, scene of the overnight clashes, and said “things will be getting better.’’ He said police and armed forces sent patrols into Tariq Jadidah to “reassure the people.’’
The streets were calmer by Monday morning but some shops remained closed and many parents kept children home from school.
The battles pitted supporters of the anti-Syrian Future Movement, the party of the former Prime Minister Saad Hariri, against those of the pro-Syrian Arab Movement Party. The Shi’ite militant group Hezbollah, which is the most powerful armed force in Lebanon, did not appear to have any direct role in the fighting. Hezbollah is a strong ally of Syria.
There is an array of diehard pro-Syrian parties and politicians in Lebanon, as well as support for the regime on the street level.
But there is an equally deep hatred of Assad among other Lebanese who fear Damascus is still calling the shots here. The two sides are the legacy of Syria’s virtual rule over Lebanon from 1976 to 2005, when Syrian troops were driven out.
Amid fears the situation might deteriorate, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates have warned their citizens against travel to Lebanon.
In Syria on Monday, activists said regime forces killed dozens of people Sunday in a raid on the central town of Soran in Hama Province. One activist group, the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, put the death toll at 39, citing sources on the ground.