Deadly clashes between pro and anti-Syrian factions in Lebanon and an apparent rise in Kurdish PKK attacks close to the Turkish-Syrian border raise concerns that Syria's own bloody civil war has the capacity for further regional destabilisation. The PKK has denied responsibility for recent bombings, but the patchwork of loyalties in the area provides opportunities for armed groups to press their own agendas under the cover of the Syrian conflict, or conversely for Damascus to use the presence of armed groups as a mask for its own operations.
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