TheLebanon–Syria border is 394 km (245 miles) in length and runs from the Mediterranean coast in the north to thetripoint withIsrael in the south.[1]
The border starts at confluence of theNahr al-Kabir river with theMediterranean Sea, and then follows this river eastwards some distance inland. The Lebanese border forms asalient to include the villages of Karha and Knaisse Akkar in the north-east ofAkkar District, just west of the SyrianLake Homs, before turning to the south-east via a series of irregular lines, cutting across theOrontes (at34°27′18″N36°29′24″E / 34.455°N 36.490°E /34.455; 36.490) and thetrans-Beqaa road betweenQaa andAl-Qusayr (at34°25′18″N36°32′36″E / 34.4217°N 36.5433°E /34.4217; 36.5433), reaching theAnti-Lebanon Mountains at about34°13′N36°36′E / 34.22°N 36.60°E /34.22; 36.60. The border then turns towards the south-west, generally following the Anti-Lebanon Mountains via a series of irregular lines, until reachingMount Hermon.
The precise location of the Lebanese–Israeli–Syriantripoint is unclear due to Israel'soccupation of the Golan Heights stemming from the 1967Six-Day War.[2] Thede jure tripoint lies on theHasbani River, a tributary of theriver Jordan, at33°14′32″N35°37′28″E / 33.2422°N 35.6244°E /33.2422; 35.6244, just north-east of the Israeli town ofMa'ayan Baruch. Thede facto tripoints lie on the tripoint(s) with the United NationsUNDOF Zone. The situation is further complicated by the dispute over theShebaa farms area on the Golan-Lebanon border.[3]
At the beginning of the 20th century what are now Lebanon and Syria belonged to theOttoman Empire, with theMount Lebanon semi-autonomous as theMount Lebanon Mutasarrifate. During theFirst World War anArab Revolt, supported by Britain, succeeded in removing the Ottomans from most of the Middle East. However, as a result of the secret 1916 Anglo-FrenchSykes-Picot Agreement Britain and France split the Ottoman domains between them, with Syria and Lebanon falling under a Frenchmandate.[4]
In 1920 France split its mandate into several political entities, one of which was an expanded Mount Lebanon Mutasarrifate referred to as 'Greater Lebanon', set up chiefly so as to provide a national polity for the generally pro-FrenchMaronite Christians.[5] The process leading to the precise delineation of the frontier is unclear, though it appears to have been based on a map stemming from the 1860s French expedition to the region which was championed by Lebanese nationalist Bulus Nujaym.[6][7] Many Syrian nationalists opposed the new entity, seeing Lebanon as an integral part of theregion of Syria.[8] The remaining Syrian states were eventually merged into one Syrian polity in 1930s, minus Lebanon (and alsoHatay, which became part of the newRepublic of Turkey). Both Lebanon and Syria gained full independence in the period 1943–1946.[9][10]
Relations between the two new states were often tense, and a precise border has never been fixed officially with any precision, in spite of Lebanese demands to this effect and some preliminary conducted in the 1950–1960s.[11][12] Many Lebanese feared that its larger neighbour harboured designs to annex the country. In 1975 long-standing sectarian tensions within Lebanon erupted intocivil war, prompting Syria tooccupy the country the following year; Syrian troops were to remain in Lebanon until 2005.[13][14] Since 2011, the border region has been seriously affected by thespillover from the Syrian Civil War.
Nujaym's formulation was to become the basis for Lebanese Christian arguments in favor of a Greater Lebanon. It stressed the national rather than economic aspects of that goal. Only extended boundaries would enable Lebanon to exist as an independent state. Nujaym told the European public that the Lebanese question required a definite solution: the establishment of an independent Christian state.