Lebanon tensions test Hezbollah-Aoun alliance

FILE PHOTO: Lebanon's President Michel Aoun addresses the nation from the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon October 14, 2021. Dalati Nohra/Handout via REUTERS

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Worsening sectarian tensions in Lebanon are testing an alliance between Shi'ite Hezbollah and its Christian ally President Michel Aoun, who may lose ground to their rivals as they step up opposition to the Iran-backed group's influence.

Analysts believe divisions that have deepened since an outbreak of violence in Beirut last week may play to the political advantage of Aoun's long-time Christian adversary, Samir Geagea, a Hezbollah opponent with close Saudi ties.