This report introduces the conflict context in the Sahel Akkar area, the Lebanese most northern coastal area bordering Syria. Sahel Akkar is predominantly agricultural, with Muslim Sunni and Alawite residents and a small Christian minority, in addition to a Syrian refugee population equivalent in number to a third of the Lebanese population. The conflict issues experienced in the area today are rooted in structural causes, including a long history of control by feudal families and marginalization in national politics and developmental agenda. Present day conflicts largely revolve around long-standing politicosectarian tensions between members of the Sunni and Alawite communities, which are vulnerable to regional and national level developments. These tensions alongside systems of economic exploitation and competition over resources impacts the relationships between the host community and Syrian refugees who are also negatively affected by national level policy on their legal stay in Lebanon and are vulnerable to gender-based exploitation and harassment.
