kidnapped two Israeli soldiers in July 2006 leading to a 34-day
conflict with Israel. The LAF in May-September 2007 battled Sunni
extremist group Fatah al-Islam in the Nahr al-Barid Palestinian
refugee camp; and the country has witnessed a string of politically
motivated assassinations since the death of Rafiq HARIRI. Lebanese
politicians in November 2007 were unable to agree on a successor to
Emile LAHUD when he stepped down as president, creating a political
vacuum until the election of Army Commander Michel SULAYMAN in May
2008 and the formation of a new cabinet in July 2008.

Geography
Lebanon

Location:

Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and
Syria

Geographic coordinates:

33 50 N, 35 50 E

Map references:

Middle East

Area:

total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km
water: 170 sq km

Area - comparative:

about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut

Land boundaries:

total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km

Coastline:

225 km

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate:

Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers;
Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows

Terrain:

narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and
Anti-Lebanon Mountains

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m

Natural resources:

limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit
region, arable land

Land use:

arable land: 16.35%
permanent crops: 13.75%
other: 69.9% (2005)

Irrigated land:

1,040 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

4.8 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 1.38 cu km/yr (33%/1%/67%)
per capita: 385 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

dust storms, sandstorms

Environment - current issues:

deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in
Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes;
pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Life
Conservation

Geography - note:

Nahr el Litani is the