Lebanese border towns become fuse for sectarian conflict

Refugees who fled the violence from the Syrian town of Flita, near Yabroud, stand outside their tents at the border town of Arsal, in the eastern Bekaa Valley March 20, 2014. REUTERS/Hassan Abdallah

ARSAL, Lebanon (Reuters) - From the Lebanese border town of Arsal, you can see the smoke as Syrian government warplanes bomb rebel positions across the frontier. But its problems are even closer.

Arsal is Sunni Muslim and the neighbouring town of al-Labwa is Shi'ite. Their fate shows just how dangerous the war in Syria has become for Lebanon as it still recovers from its own civil conflict.