lebanese civil war

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Lebanese Civil War 1 Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War (Arabic: ةينانبللا ةيلهألا برحلا) was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 130,000 to 250,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people (a quarter of the population) were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced, the majority of them Christian Lebanese who were forced out of the Chouf mountains. There was also a mass exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon, mostly of Christian descent. The Post-war occupation of the country by Syria was particularly politically disadvantageous to the Christian population as most of their leadership was driven into exile, or had been assassinated or jailed. [1] There is no consensus among scholars and researchers on what triggered the Lebanese Civil War. However the militarization of the Palestinian refugee population, with the arrival of the PLO guerrilla forces did spark an arms race amongst the different Lebanese political factions. In addition, the political ambitions of the Druze leader Kamal Jumblat, who used the Palestinian cause to disrupt consensus amongst different Lebanese factions also contributed to the general chaos. In his seminal work, Yezid Sayigh, the son of prominent PLO members, demonstrated that Arafat and his closest aides also sought to split the Lebanese army in order to mount a coup to change the political landscape of the country. The occupation of army barracks after the army split, by the PLO and allied Lebanese factions, trained and funded by Fatah also contributed to a further arms race by other Lebanese factions. It has been argued that the antecedents of the war can be traced back to the conflicts and political compromises reached after the end of Lebanon's administration by the Ottoman Empire. The Cold War had a powerful disintegrative effect on Lebanon, which was closely linked to the polarization that preceded the 1958 political crisis. However, such accounts come from journalistic sources and are not consistent with such academic scholarship as is largely interested in comparative political research. These scholars (such as Michael Johnson) argue that the earlier conflicts in Lebanon, were an expression of bourgeoisie war for influence amongst different political personalities. The 1958 war for example, often referred to as the War of the Pashas was an insurrection mounted by traditional political bosses who had lost elections to the parliament in 1957. However, due to Lebanon's historic openness towards the press and political organization, such local conflagration were always given more regional meaning because of the co-optation of such events by parasitic groups. The founding members of Fatah for example, although not as yet officially formed, had flocked to Lebanon and participated in the insurrections, aiding in the take over of the streets in Tripoli by armed protesters who had been directed onto the streets by the defeated political bosses. This crisis in 1958 was not deep and ended very quickly. However by 1975, the presence of a foreign armed force in the form of the PLO guerrillas, who exercised a veto on Lebanese politics and exercised the foreign policy of other states within a period of regional polarization, had a visible effect on Lebanon. The establishment of the state of Israel and the displacement of a hundred thousand Palestinian refugees to Lebanon (around 10% of the total population of the country) changed the demographics of Lebanon and provided a foundation for the long-term involvement of Lebanon in regional conflicts. After a short break in the fighting in 1976 due to Arab League mediation and Syrian intervention, PalestinianLebanese strife continued, with fighting primarily focused in south Lebanon, which had been occupied by the PLO since 1969, in contravention of the Cairo accords signed with the Lebanese government. During the course of the fighting, alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably: by the end of the war, nearly every party had allied with and subsequently betrayed every other party at least once. The 1980s were especially bleak: much of Beirut lay in ruins as a result of the 1976 Karantina massacre carried out by the Lebanese Front, the Syrian Army shelling of Christian neighborhoods in 1978 and 1981, and the Israeli invasion that evicted the PLO from the country.

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Page 1: Lebanese Civil War

Lebanese Civil War 1

Lebanese Civil WarThe Lebanese Civil War (Arabic: ةينانبللا ةيلهألا برحلا‎) was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lastedfrom 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 130,000 to 250,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people (aquarter of the population) were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced, the majority ofthem Christian Lebanese who were forced out of the Chouf mountains. There was also a mass exodus of almost onemillion people from Lebanon, mostly of Christian descent. The Post-war occupation of the country by Syria wasparticularly politically disadvantageous to the Christian population as most of their leadership was driven into exile,or had been assassinated or jailed.[1]

There is no consensus among scholars and researchers on what triggered the Lebanese Civil War. However themilitarization of the Palestinian refugee population, with the arrival of the PLO guerrilla forces did spark an armsrace amongst the different Lebanese political factions. In addition, the political ambitions of the Druze leader KamalJumblat, who used the Palestinian cause to disrupt consensus amongst different Lebanese factions also contributed tothe general chaos. In his seminal work, Yezid Sayigh, the son of prominent PLO members, demonstrated that Arafatand his closest aides also sought to split the Lebanese army in order to mount a coup to change the politicallandscape of the country. The occupation of army barracks after the army split, by the PLO and allied Lebanesefactions, trained and funded by Fatah also contributed to a further arms race by other Lebanese factions.It has been argued that the antecedents of the war can be traced back to the conflicts and political compromisesreached after the end of Lebanon's administration by the Ottoman Empire. The Cold War had a powerfuldisintegrative effect on Lebanon, which was closely linked to the polarization that preceded the 1958 political crisis.However, such accounts come from journalistic sources and are not consistent with such academic scholarship as islargely interested in comparative political research. These scholars (such as Michael Johnson) argue that the earlierconflicts in Lebanon, were an expression of bourgeoisie war for influence amongst different political personalities.The 1958 war for example, often referred to as the War of the Pashas was an insurrection mounted by traditionalpolitical bosses who had lost elections to the parliament in 1957. However, due to Lebanon's historic opennesstowards the press and political organization, such local conflagration were always given more regional meaningbecause of the co-optation of such events by parasitic groups. The founding members of Fatah for example, althoughnot as yet officially formed, had flocked to Lebanon and participated in the insurrections, aiding in the take over ofthe streets in Tripoli by armed protesters who had been directed onto the streets by the defeated political bosses.This crisis in 1958 was not deep and ended very quickly. However by 1975, the presence of a foreign armed force inthe form of the PLO guerrillas, who exercised a veto on Lebanese politics and exercised the foreign policy of otherstates within a period of regional polarization, had a visible effect on Lebanon. The establishment of the state ofIsrael and the displacement of a hundred thousand Palestinian refugees to Lebanon (around 10% of the totalpopulation of the country) changed the demographics of Lebanon and provided a foundation for the long-terminvolvement of Lebanon in regional conflicts.After a short break in the fighting in 1976 due to Arab League mediation and Syrian intervention,Palestinian–Lebanese strife continued, with fighting primarily focused in south Lebanon, which had been occupiedby the PLO since 1969, in contravention of the Cairo accords signed with the Lebanese government. During thecourse of the fighting, alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably: by the end of the war, nearly every party hadallied with and subsequently betrayed every other party at least once. The 1980s were especially bleak: much ofBeirut lay in ruins as a result of the 1976 Karantina massacre carried out by the Lebanese Front, the Syrian Armyshelling of Christian neighborhoods in 1978 and 1981, and the Israeli invasion that evicted the PLO from thecountry.

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Prelude

Historical context

Christian refugees during the 1860 strife betweenDruze and Maronites in Lebanon.

1926 Lebanon was declared a republic, and a constitution was adopted.However in 1932 the constitution was suspended due to upheaval, assome factions demanded unity with Syria, whilst a larger numberdemanded independence from the French.[2] In 1934, the country's firstand, to date, last census was conducted.

In 1936 the Christian Phalange party was founded by Pierre Gemayel.Lebanon was promised independence and on 22 November 1943 it wasachieved. French troops, who had invaded Lebanon in 1941 to ridBeirut of the Vichy forces, left the country in 1946. The Christiansassumed power over the country and economy. A confessionalparliament was created, where Muslims and Christians were givenquotas of seats in parliament. As well, the President was to be aChristian, the Prime Minister a Sunni Muslim and the Speaker ofParliament a Shia Muslim.

Series of eventsDuring the 1948 Arab-Israeli War an exodus of Palestinian refugees who fled the fighting or were expelled fromtheir homes, arrived in Lebanon. Palestinians came to play a very important role in future Lebanese civil conflicts,whilst the establishment of Israel radically changed the local environment in which Lebanon found itself.

US Marines on patrol in Beirut, during the 1958Lebanon conflict

In July 1958, Lebanon was threatened by a civil war between MaroniteChristians and Muslims. President Camille Chamoun had attempted tobreak the stranglehold on Lebanese politics exercised by traditionalpolitical families in Lebanon. These families maintained their electoralappeal by cultivating strong client-patron relations with their localcommunities. But this prevented the emergence of an educatedpolitical class into the parliament. Although he succeeded insponsoring alternative political candidates to enter the elections in

1957, causing the traditional families to lose their positions, these families then embarked upon a war withChamoun, referred to as the War of the Pashas. Michael Johnson's account of this in "Class and Client in Beirut" isessential reading to understand these events. However, as always and due to Lebanon's open media and politicalsociety, regional tensions were used as an excuse to mount the insurrection by the excluded political bosses.

In previous years, tensions with Egypt had escalated in 1956 when the non-aligned President, Camille Chamoun, did not break off diplomatic relations with the Western powers that attacked Egypt during the Suez Crisis, angering Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser. Chamoun has often been called pro-Western, yet he had signed several trade deals with the Soviet union (see Gendzier). However Nasser had attacked Chamoun because of his suspected support for the US led Baghdad Pact. Nasser felt that the pro-western Baghdad Pact posed a threat to Arab Nationalism. Lebanon however historically had a small cosmetic army that was never effective in defending Lebanon's territorial integrity, and this is why in later years the PLO guerrilla factions had found it easy to enter Lebanon and set up bases, as well as takeover army barracks on the border with Israel as early as 1968. Yezid Sayigh documents the early skirmishes which saw the army not only lose control over its barracks to the occupying PLO but also lost many soldiers. However prior to this, aware of the country's vulnerability to outside forces, president

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Lebanese Civil War 3

Chamoun looked to regional pacts to ensure protection from foreign armies.

This article is part of the series on the:History of Lebanon

Ancient History

Phoenicia

Ancient history of Lebanon

Post Phoenicia Era

Assyrian Rule

Babylonian Rule

Persian Rule

Hellenistic Rule

Roman Rule

Byzantine Rule

Arab Era

Ottoman Rule

French Rule

Modern Lebanon

1958 Lebanon crisis

Lebanese Civil War

South Lebanon conflict (1982–2000)

Syrian presence in Lebanon

2005 Lebanon bombings

Cedar Revolution

2006 Lebanon War

2006-8 political protests

2007 North Lebanon conflict

2008 conflict in Lebanon

2010 Israeli–Lebanese clash

Topical

Politics & Elections

Military history

Economic history

Timeline of Lebanese history

But his Lebanese Sunni Muslim Prime Minister Rashid Karami supported Nasser in 1956 and 1958. Lebanese Muslims pushed the government to join the newly created United Arab Republic, a country formed out of the unification of Syria and Egypt, while the majority of Lebanese and especially the Christians wanted to keep Lebanon

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as an independent nation with its own independent parliament. President Camille feared the toppling of hisgovernment and asked for U.S intervention. At the time the U.S was engaged in the Cold War. Chamoun asked forassistance proclaiming that communism was going to overthrow his government. Chamoun however was not onlyresponding to the revolt of former political bosses, but also to the fact that both Egypt and Syria had taken theopportunity to deploy proxies into the Lebanese conflict. Thus the Arab National Movement (ANM), led by GeorgeHabash and later to become the Progressive Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)and a faction of the PLO,were deployed to Lebanon by Nasser. The ANM were a clandestine militia implicated int he attempted coups againstboth the Jordanian monarchy and the Iraqi president throughout the 1950s at Nasser's bidding. The foundingmembers of Fatah, including Yasser Arafat and Khalil Wazir also flew to Lebanon to use the insurrection as a meansby which a war could be fomented towards Israel. They participated in the fighting by directing armed forces againstthe government security in the city of Tripoli according to Yezid Sayigh's work.In that year, President Chamoun was unable to convince the Christian army commander, Fouad Shihab to use thearmed forces against Muslim demonstrators, fearing that getting involved in internal politics would split his smalland weak multi-confessional force. The Phalange militia came to the presidents aid instead to bring a final end to theroad blockades which were crippling the major cities. Encouraged by its efforts during this conflict, later that year,principally through violence and the success of general strikes in Beirut, the Phalange achieved what journalistsdubbed the "counterrevolution." By their actions the Phalangists brought down the government of Prime MinisterKarami and secured for their leader, Jumayyil, a position in the four-man cabinet that was subsequently formed.However estimates of the Phalange's membership by Yezid Sayigh and other academic sources put them at a fewthousand. Non-academic sources tend to inflate the Phalanges membership. What should be kept in mind was thatthis insurrection was met with widespread disapproval by many Lebanese who wanted no part in the regional politicsand many young men aided the Phalange in their suppression of the insurrection, especially as many of thedemonstrators were little more than proxy forces hired by groups such as the ANM and Fatah founders as well asbeing hired by the defeated parliamentary bosses.During the 1960s Lebanon was relatively calm, but this would soon change. Fatah and other Palestinian LiberationOrganization factions had long been active among the 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanese camps. Through the1960s the center for armed Palestinian activities had been in Jordan, after being evicted from Jordan by the King,they came to Lebanon. Fatah and other Palestinians groups had attempted to mount a coup in Jordan by incentivizinga split int he Jordanian army, something that the ANM had attempted to do a decade earlier by Nasser's bidding.Jordan however responded and expelled the forces into Lebanon. When they arrived they created a "a State withinthe State". This action wasn't welcomed by the Lebanese government nor the majority of the Lebanese people andthis shook Lebanon's fragile sectarian climate.Solidarity to the Palestinians was expressed through the Lebanese Sunni Muslims but with the aim to change thepolitical system form one of consensus amongst different ethnicities, towards one where their power share wouldincrease. Certain groups in the Lebanese National Movement wished to bring about a more secular and democraticorder, but as this group increasingly included Islamist groups, encouraged to join by the PLO, the more progressivedemands of the initial agenda was dropped by January 1976. Islamists did not support a secular order in Lebanon andwished to bring about rule by Muslim clerics. Yezid Sayigh documents these events and especially the role of Fatahand Tripoli Islamist movement known as Tawhid, in changing the agenda being pushed for my groups such as theCommunists. This rag-tag coalition has often been referred to as the left-wing, but many participants were actuallyvery conservative religious elements and they did not share any broader ideological agenda, rather they were broughttogether by the short term goal of overthrowing the established political order, each for their own grievances andends.These forces enabled the PLO / Fatah (Fatah constituted 80% of the membership of Fatah and Fatah guerrillascontrolled most PLO institutions now) to transform the Western Part of Beirut into its stronghold. The PLO hadtaken over the heat of Sidon and Tyre in the early 1970s, it controlled great swath of south Lebanon, in which the

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indigenous Shiite population had to suffer the humiliation of passing though PLO checkpoints and now they hadworked their way by force into Beirut. The PLo did this with the assistance of so-called volunteers from Libya andAlgeria shipped int through the ports it controlled, as well as a number of Sunni Lebanese groups who had beentrained and armed by PLO/ Fatah and encouraged to declare themselves as separate militias. However as Rex Brynenmakes clear in his publication on the PLO, these militias were nothing more than "shop-fronts" or in Arabic"Dakakin" for Fatah, armed gangs with no ideological foundation and no organic reason for their existence save thefact their individual members were put on PLO/ Fatah payroll.The strike of fishermen at Sidon in February 1975 could also be considered the first important episode that set off theoutbreak of hostilities. That event involved a specific issue: the attempt of former President Camille Chamoun (alsohead of the Maronite-oriented National Liberal Party) to monopolize fishing along the coast of Lebanon. Theinjustices perceived by the fishermen evoked sympathy from many Lebanese and reinforced the resentment andantipathy that were widely felt against the state and the economic monopolies. The demonstrations against thefishing company were quickly transformed into a political action supported by the political left and their allies in thePalestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The state tried to suppress the demonstrators, and a sniper reportedly killeda popular figure in the city, the former Mayor of Sidon, Maroof Saad. He was buried in a Palestinian flag, and in themedia, the Sidon riots became somehow fused with the Palestinian war with Israel in the minds of media watchers.However the event appeared to have been hi-jacked by the Palestinians because Saad was on bad terms with thePLO. Fatah controlled the heart of Sidon and the port and had attempted to fund the electoral campaigns ofcompeting candidates which eventually saw Saad lose both his bid for a parliamentary seat and then in 1973, lose themayor-ship. This meant that the Fatah sponsored rival had not only won Sidon, but was now representing Fatah'swishes in the Lebanese parliament! (see Khazen). When Saad died, there was bitter enmity between him and thePLO/ Fatah .Many non- academic sources claim a government sniper killed Saad, however there is no support for such a claim,and it appears that whomever had killed him had intended for what began as a small and quite demonstration toevolve into something more. The sniper targeted Saad right at the end of the demonstration as it was dissipating.Farid Khazen, sourcing the local histories of Sidon academics and eye-witnesses, gives a run-down of the puzzlingevents of the day that based on their research. Other interesting facts that Khazen reveals, based on the Sidonacademic's work include; Saad was not in dispute with the fishing consortium made up of Yugoslav nationals. In factthe Yugoslavian representatives in Lebanon had negotiated with the fisherman's union to make the fishermanshareholders in the company; the company offered to modernize the Fisherman's equipment and buy their catch; givetheir fisherman's union and annual subsidy and Saad as a union representative (and not the mayor of Sidon at thetime as many erroneous sources claim) was offered a place on the company's board too. There has been somespeculation that Saad's attempts to narrow the differences between the fishermen and the consortium, and hisacceptance of a place on the board made him a target of attack by the conspirator who sought a full conflagrationaround the small protest.The events in Sidon were not contained for long. The government began to lose control of the situation in 1975. On the morning of 13 April 1975, PLO Palestinian guerrilla's in a speeding car fired on a church in the Christian East Beirut suburb of Ain El Rummaneh, killing four people, including two Maronite Phalangists. The Church was being opened and thus the presence of the Phalange party was well known at the new church. That same day the situation escalated when a bus carrying armed Palestinians was ambushed by gunmen belonging to the Phalange party. The party claimed that earlier its headquarters had been targeted by unknown gunmen. The attack against the bus in Ain El Rummaneh marked the official beginning of the Lebanese Civil War. Initially, the war pitted Maronite-oriented right-wing militias (most notably the Phalange party and the National Liberal party) against leftist and Muslim-oriented militias (grouped together in the Lebanese National Movement) , many of whom were trained, formed, and now funded by the PLO. By the end of 1975, the PLO and their allied parties were occupying one army barracks after another, expelling Christian soldiers especially from barracks in the south of Lebanon. By the start of 1976, a split in the Lebanese army was official. In Yezid Sayigh's work, he outlines how Khalil Wazir, the right hand

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tactician of Yasser Arafat had sought to split the Lebanese army. In February of the year, Sayigh outlines too thatFatah had encouraged and supported a coup by the Beirut area army commander Ahmad Ahdab, with claims madeby other Palestinian leaders that the PLO had to dispense 25 million dollars to bribe Ahdab and his forces to declarethe coup. Ahdab however would change his mind by the end of the year and express regret for his actions.

Major militiasMost militias claimed that they were non-sectarian forces, but in fact they recruited mainly from the community orregion of their chiefs.Throughout the war most or all militias operated with little regard for human rights, and the sectarian character ofsome battles, made non-combatant civilians a frequent target. As the war dragged on, the militias deteriorated everfurther into mafia-style organizations with many commanders turning to crime as their main occupation rather thanfighting. Finances for the war effort were obtained in one or all of three ways:Outside support: Generally from one of the rival Arab governments, Iran or Israel. Alliances would shift frequently.Preying on the population: Extortion, theft, bank robberies and random checkpoints at which "customs" would becollected, were commonplace on all sides. During cease-fires, most militias operated in their home areas as virtualmafia organizations.Smuggling: During the civil war, Lebanon turned into one of the world's largest narcotics producers, with much ofthe hashish production centered in the Bekaa valley. But much else was also smuggled, such as guns and supplies, allkinds of stolen goods, and regular trade - war or no war, Lebanon would not give up its role as the middleman inEuropean-Arab business. Many battles were fought over Lebanon's ports, to gain smugglers access to the sea routes.

Christian militias

Logo of Kataeb

Christian militias acquired arms from Romania and Bulgaria as well asfrom West Germany, Belgium and Israel,[3] and drew supporters fromthe larger Christian population in the north of the country. They weregenerally right-wing in their political outlook, and all the majorChristian militias were Maronite-dominated, and other Christian sectsplayed a secondary role.

The most powerful of the Christian militias was the Kataeb, orPhalanges, under the leadership of Bachir Gemayel. This Militiaeventually became a strong ally of Israel due to the civil war. Initiallymany Muslims welcomed Israel to rid Lebanon of the PLO. ThePhalange went on to help found the Lebanese Forceswith the help andcombination of many small Christian militas like for example theTyous Team of Commandos in 1977. A smaller faction was thenationalist non-sectarian Guardians of the Cedars. These militias quickly established strongholds inChristian-dominated East Beirut, also the site of many government buildings. In the north, the Marada Brigadesserved as the private militia of the Franjieh family and Zgharta.

Another mainly Christian Militia was the South Lebanon Army which was controlled by Saad Haddad. This militiawas installed in South Lebanon by the Israelis. Their goal was to minimize the U.N peace keeping movement and toattack the PLO.Also, another notable militia; Noumour (رومن) was the military wing of the National Liberal Party (NLP/ AHRAR) during the Lebanese Civil War. The Tigers formed in Saadiyat in 1968, as Noumour Al Ahrar (Tigers of the Liberals, رارحألا رومن ), under the leadership of Camille Chamoun. The group took its name from his middle name, Nemr - "Tiger". Trained by Naim Berdkan, the unit was led by Chamoun's son Dany Chamoun. After the Lebanese

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Civil War began in 1975, the Tigers, strong of 3,500 militiamen fought the Lebanese National Movement (LNM)and its Palestinian allies.Christian militias armed members were accused of several massacres that took place duringthe war (sabra & shatila massacre)

Shi'a militias

Flag of the Amal Movement.

The Shi'a militias were slow to form and join in the fighting. Initially,many Shi'a had sympathy for the Palestinians and a few had beendrawn to the Lebanese Communist Party, but after 1970's BlackSeptember, there was a sudden influx of armed Palestinians to the Shi'aareas. South Lebanon's population is mainly Shi'a and the Palestinianssoon set up base there for their attacks against the Israelis. ThePalestinian movement quickly squandered its influence with the Shi'ite,as radical factions ruled by the gun in much of Shi'ite-inhabitedsouthern Lebanon, where the refugee camps happened to beconcentrated, and the mainstream PLO proved either unwilling orunable to rein them in.

The Palestinian radicals' secularism and behaviour had alienated the traditionalist Shi'ite community, the Shi'a didn'twant to pay the price for the PLO's rocket attacks from Southern Lebanon. The PLO created a State within a State inSouth Lebanon and this instigated a fury among Lebanon's Shi'a who feared a retaliation from the Israelis to theirnative land in the South. Initially the Shi'a had been sympathetic towards the Palestinians, but when the PLO createdchaos in South Lebanon these feelings were reversed. The Shiʿa predominated in the area of southern Lebanon thatin the 1960s became an arena for Israel-Palestinian conflict. The state of Lebanon, which always avoided provokingIsrael, simply abandoned southern Lebanon. Many of the people there migrated to the suburbs of Beirut which areknown as "poverty belts." The young Shi'a migrants, who had not participated in the prosperity of prewar Beirut,joined many Lebanese and some Palestinian organizations. After many years without their own independent politicalorganizations, there suddenly arose Musa Sadr's Amal Movement in 1974-75. The Amal movement was created toexpel foreign forces from Lebanese land, solely the PLO at the time. Its Islamist ideology immediately attracted theunrepresented people, and Amal's armed ranks grew rapidly. Amal fought against the PLO in the early days. Later,in the early 1980s, Amal proved to be a strong militia in the face of the Israelis. Amal fighters had delivered the firstattack against their Israeli occupiers and succeeded. The Lebanese Shi'a soon proved that the Israelis were not asinvincible as everyone thought. Later a hard line faction would break away to join with Shi'a groups fighting Israel toform the organization Hezbollah also known as the National Resistance, who to this day remain the most powerfulmilitia of Lebanon after the Lebanese Forces (A Christian Militia) also known as LF. Hezbollah was created as afaction split from Amal Movement, and an Islamist organization which deemed Amal to be too secular. Hezbollahoriginal aims included to the establishment of an Islamic state ruled by cleric in Lebanon, inspired and funded by theIranians.

There was great support by Iran during the Lebanese Civil War for shi'ite factions, Amal Movement and Hezbollah.Hezbollah and it's leaders were inspired by Ayatollah Khomeini's revolution and therefore in 1982 emerged as afaction set on resisting the Israeli occupation of Lebanon, and its forces were trained and organized by a contingentof Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Support was greatly met by both military training and funding support.The Lebanese Alawites, followers of a sect of Shia Islam, were represented by the Red Knights Militia of the ArabDemocratic Party, which was pro-Syrian due to the Alawites being dominant in Syria, and mainly acted in NorthernLebanon around Tripoli.

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Sunni militias

Some Sunni factions received support from Libya and Iraq, and a number of minor militias existed, the moreprominent with Nasserist or otherwise pan-Arab and Arab nationalist leanings, but also a few Islamist ones, such asthe Tawhid Movement. The main Sunni-led organization was the al-Murabitun a major west-Beirut based force.Al-Murabitoun fought with the Palestinians against the Israelis during the invasion of 1982.

Druze Progressive Socialist Party

The small Druze sect, strategically and dangerously seated on the Chouf in central Lebanon, had no natural allies,and so were compelled to put much effort into building alliances. Under the leadership of the Jumblatt family, firstKamal Jumblatt (the LNM leader) and then his son Walid, the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) served as aneffective Druze militia, building excellent ties to the Soviet Union mainly, and with Syria upon the withdrawal ofIsrael to the south of the country. However, many Druze in Lebanon at the time were members of the non-religiousparty, the Syrian Social Nationalist Party. Under Kamal Jumblatt's leadership, the PSP was a major element in theLebanese National Movement (LNM) which supported Lebanon's Arab identity and sympathized with thePalestinians. It built a powerful private army, which proved to be one of the strongest in the Lebanese Civil War of1975 to 1990. It conquered much of Mount Lebanon and the Chouf District. Its main adversaries were the MaroniteChristian Phalangist militia, and later the Lebanese Forces militia (which absorbed the Phalangists). The PSPsuffered a major setback in 1977, when Kamal Jumblatt was assassinated. His son Walid succeeded him as leader ofthe party. From the Israeli withdrawal from the Chouf in 1983 to the end of the civil war, the PSP ran a highlyeffective civil administration, the Civil Administration of the Mountain, in the area under its control. Tolls levied atPSP militia checkpoints provided a major source of income for the administration, which succeeded in providing ahigh standard of social and public services.The PSP played an important role in the so-called "Mountain War" under the lead of Walid Jumblatt: after the IsraeliArmy retreated from the Lebanese Mountain, important battles took place between the PSP and Christian militias.PSP armed members were accused of several massacres that took place during that war (31 August 1983: 36civilians in Bmarian, 7 September 1983: 200 Christian civilians killed in Bhamdoun, 10 September 1983: 64 inBireh, 10 September 1983: 30 in Ras el-Matn, 11 September 1983: 15 in Maasser Beit ed-Dine, 11 September 1983:36 in Chartoun, 13 September 1983: 84 in Maasser el-Chouf, and many others...). The Progressive Socialist Party (orPSP) (Arabic: يكارتشالا يمدقتلا بزحلا‎, al-hizb al-taqadummi al-ishtiraki) is a political party in Lebanon. Its currentleader is Walid Jumblatt. It is ideologically secular and officially non-sectarian, but in practice is led and supportedmostly by followers of the Druze faith.

Non-religious groups

Flag of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party

Although several Lebanese militias claimed to be secular, most werelittle more than vehicles for sectarian interests. Still, there existed anumber of non-religious groups, primarily but not exclusively of theleft and/or Pan-Arab right.

Examples of this was the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP) and themore radical and independent Communist Action Organization (COA).Another notable example was the fascist Syrian Social NationalistParty (SSNP), which promoted the concept of Greater Syria, incontrast to Pan-Arab or Lebanese nationalism. The SSNP wasgenerally aligned with the Syrian government [?], although it did notideologically approve of Hafez al-Assad's Ba'thist regime, and up to this day, it still opposes the SyrianGovernment's regime and the Syrian regime that was implemented in Lebanon during the Civil War.

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Lebanese Civil War 9

Two competing Baath party factions were also involved in the early stages of the war: a nationalist one known as"pro-Iraqi" headed by Dr. 'Abdul-Majeed Al-Rafei (Sunni) and Nicola Y. Ferzli (Greek Orthodox Christian), and aMarxist one known as "pro-Syrian" headed by Assem Qanso (Shiite).

Palestinians

PLO logo

The Palestinian movement relocated most of its fighting strength to Lebanon at theend of 1970 after being expelled from Jordan in the events known as BlackSeptember. The umbrella organization, the Palestine Liberation Organization(PLO)—by itself undoubtedly Lebanon's most potent fighting force at thetime—was little more than a loose confederation, but its leader, Yassir Arafat,controlled all factions by buying their loyalties. Arafat allowed little oversight to beexercised over PLO finances an he was the ultimate source for all decisions madein directing financial matters. Rex Brynen provides a detailed account of how thisworked. Arafat's control of funds, channeled directly to him by the oil producingcountries like Saudi Arabia and Iraq and Libya meant that he had little realfunctional opposition to his leadership and although ostensibly rival factions in the

PLO existed , this masked a stable loyalty towards Arafat so long as he was able to dispense financial rewards to hisfollowers and members of the PLO guerrilla factions.

The PLO mainstream was represented by Arafat's powerful Fatah, which waged guerrilla warfare but did not have astrong core ideology, except the claim to seek the liberation of Palestine. As a result, they gained broad appeal with arefugee population with conservative Islamic values (who resisted secular ideologies). The more ideological factionshowever included Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), and its splinter, the Democratic Front for theLiberation of Palestine (DFLP). Fatah was actually instrumental in splitting the DF form the PFLP in the early daysof the PFLPs formation so as to diminish the appeal and competition the PFLP posed to Fatah. Helen Cobban'shistory of the PFLP is an interesting source of information covering this event. Lesser roles were played by thefractious Palestinian Liberation Front (PLF) and another split-off from the PFLP, the Syrian-aligned Popular Frontfor the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC). To complicate things, the Ba'thist systems of Syriaand Iraq both set up Palestinian puppet organizations within the PLO. The as-Sa'iqa was a Syrian-controlled militia,paralleled by the Arab Liberation Front (ALF) under Iraqi command. The Syrian government could also count on theSyrian brigades of the Palestinian Liberation Army (PLA), formally but not functionally the PLO's regular army.Some PLA units sent by Egypt were under Arafat's command.

First phase 1975–1977

Sectarian violence and civilian massacresBetween 1968 and 1975, there was a gradual buildup in the assertion by Yasser Arafat's PLO of its right to fightIsrael from the Lebanese south, in spite of Lebanese sovereignty. A sample of the incidents includes: Palestinianroadblocks in the city of Beirut killing innocent Lebanese civilians; kidnapping by PLO militants of Lebanesegendarmes; kidnapping of Christians and the dumping of the mutilated bodies on roadsides; Syria's backing of thePLO included punishing Lebanon by closing the borders between the two countries, which choked the Lebaneseeconomy; incursions by Palestinian contingents of the Syrian Army such as the Palestine Liberation Army, theAl-Saiqa commandos, the Yarmouk Brigades, etc. into Lebanese territory and carrying out massacres againstChristian villages in the north and the east; ineffective attacks by PLO militants against the Israeli north were oftenmet with massive and deadly reprisals by Israel against the civilian population; the assassination of the Israeliambassador in London led to Israel bombing Beirut Airport and destroying the entire fleet of the Lebanese nationalair carrier - MEA, Lebanese army air force bombing the Palestinian camps, etc. After these incidents, several accords

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were signed between the Lebanese State and the PLO (examples: The Cairo Accord of 1969 and the Melkart Accordof 1972), only to be violated by the PLO, then backed by Syria, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt.In the spring of 1975, this build-up erupted in an all-out conflict, with the PLO pitted against the Christian Phalange,and the ever-weaker national government wavering between the need to maintain order and catering to itsconstituency.Christian East Beirut was ringed by heavily fortified Palestinian camps from which kidnappings and sniping againstLebanese civilians became a daily routine. Christian East Beirut became besieged by the PLO camps, with severeshortages of food and fuel. This unbearable situation was remedied by the Phalanges and their allied Christianmilitias as they besieged the Palestinian camps embedded in Christian East Beirut one at a time and brought themdown. The first was on 18 January 1976 when the heavily fortified Karantina camp, located near the strategic BeirutHarbor, was sacked during the Karantina massacre: About 1,000 PLO fighters and civilians were killed. ThePalestinian PLO and al-Saika forces retaliated by attacking the isolated defenseless Christian town of Damour about20 miles south of Beirut on the coast, during the Damour massacre in which 1,000 Christian civilians were killed and5,000 were sent fleeing north by boat, since all roads were blocked off. The Maronites retaliated with the Telal-Zaatar massacre that same year. These massacres prompted a mass exodus of Muslims and Christians, as peoplefearing retribution fled to areas under the control of their own sect. The ethnic and religious layout of the residentialareas of the capital encouraged this process, and East and West Beirut were increasingly transformed into aneffective Christian and Muslim Beirut. Also, the number of Christian leftists who had allied with the LNM, andMuslim conservatives with the government, dropped sharply, as the war gradually changed from an essentiallyPalestinian versus Lebanese confrontation into a more sectarian conflict.

Syrian intervention

Map showing power balance in Lebanon, 1976:Dark green - controlled by Syria, purple -

controlled by Christian militias, light green -controlled by Palestinian militias

In June, 1976, with fighting throughout the country and the Maroniteson the verge of defeat, President Suleiman Frangieh called for Syriaintervention in Lebanon, on the grounds that the port of Beirut wouldbe closed and that is how Syria received a large portion of their goods.Christian fears had been greatly exacerbated by the Damour massacre,and both sides felt the stakes had been raised above mere politicalpower. Syria responded by ending its prior affiliation with thePalestinian Rejectionist Front and began supporting theMaronite-dominated government. This technically put Syria on thesame side as Israel, as Israel had already begun to supply Maroniteforces with arms, tanks, and military advisers in May 1976.[4] Syriahad its own political and territorial interests in Lebanon, whichharbored cells of the Islamists and anti-Ba'thist Muslim Brotherhood,and was also a possible route of attack for Israel.

At the President's request, Syrian troops entered Lebanon, occupyingTripoli and the Bekaa Valley, easily brushing aside the LNM and

Palestinian defenses. A cease-fire was imposed,[5] but it ultimately failed to stop the conflict, so Syria added to thepressure. With Damascus supplying arms, Christian forces managed to break through the defenses of the Telal-Zaatar refugee camp in East Beirut, which had long been under siege. A massacre of about 2,000 Palestiniansfollowed, which unleashed heavy criticism against Syria from the Arab world.

In October 1976, Syria accepted the proposal of the Arab League summit in Riyadh. This gave Syria a mandate to keep 40,000 troops in Lebanon as the bulk of an Arab Deterrent Force charged with disentangling the combatants and restoring calm. Other Arab nations were also part of the ADF, but they lost interest relatively soon, and Syria was again left in sole control, now with the ADF as a diplomatic shield against international criticism. The Civil War

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was officially ended at this point, and an uneasy quiet settled over Beirut and most of the rest of Lebanon. In thesouth, however, the climate began to deteriorate as a consequence of the gradual return of PLO combatants, who hadbeen required to vacate central Lebanon under the terms of the Riyadh Accords.

Uneasy quiet

The Green Line that separated west and eastBeirut, 1982

The nation was now effectively divided, with southern Lebanon andthe western half of Beirut becoming bases for the PLO andMuslim-based militias, and the Christians in control of East Beirut andthe Christian section of Mount Lebanon. The main confrontation linein divided Beirut was known as the Green Line.

In East Beirut, in 1976, Christian leaders of the National Liberal Party(NLP), the Kataeb Party and the Lebanese Renewal Party joined in theLebanese Front, a political counterpoint to the LNM. Their militias -the Tigers, Kataeb Regulatory Forces (KRF) and Guardians of theCedars - entered a loose coalition known as the Lebanese Forces, toform a military wing for the Lebanese Front. From the very beginning,the Kataeb and its Regulatory Forces' militia, under the leadership of Bashir Gemayel, dominated the LF. In1977-80, through absorbing or destroying smaller militias, he both consolidated control and strengthened the LF intothe dominant Christian force.

In March the same year, Lebanese National Movement leader Kamal Jumblatt was assassinated. The murder waswidely blamed on the Syrian government. While Jumblatt's role as leader of the Druze Progressive Socialist Partywas filled surprisingly smoothly by his son, Walid Jumblatt, the LNM disintegrated after his death. Although theanti-government pact of leftists, Shi'a, Sunni, Palestinians and Druze would stick together for some time more, theirwildly divergent interests tore at opposition unity. Sensing the opportunity, Hafez al-Assad immediately begansplitting up both the Christian and Muslim coalitions in a game of divide and conquer.

Second phase 1977–1982

Israel intervenes in South Lebanon, 1978

Operation Litani

UNIFIL base, 1981

PLO attacks from Lebanon into Israel in 1977 and 1978 escalatedtensions between the countries. On 11 March 1978, eleven Fatahfighters landed on a beach in northern Israel and proceeded to hijacktwo buses full of passengers on the Haifa - Tel-Aviv road, shooting atpassing vehicles. They killed 37 and wounded 76 Israelis before beingkilled in the firefight with the Israeli forces.[6] Israel invaded Lebanonfour days later in Operation Litani. The Israeli Army occupied most ofthe area south of the Litani River The UN Security Council passedResolution 425 calling for immediate Israeli withdrawal and creatingthe UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), charged with maintainingpeace.

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Security Zone

Map showing the Blue Line demarcation linebetween Lebanon and Israel, established by theUN after the Israeli withdrawal from southern

Lebanon in 1978

Israeli forces withdrew later in 1978, but retained control of thesouthern region by managing a 12-mile (19 km) wide "security zone"along the border. To hold these positions, Israel installed the SouthLebanon Army (SLA), a Christian-Shi'a proxy militia under theleadership of Major Saad Haddad. Israel supplied the SLA with armsand resources, and posted "advisers" to strengthen and direct themilitia. The Israeli Prime Minister, Likud's Menachem Begin,compared the plight of the Christian minority in southern Lebanon(then about 5% of the population in SLA territory) to that of EuropeanJews during World War II.[7]

Violent exchanges resumed between the PLO, Israel, and the SLA,with the PLO attacking SLA positions and firing rockets into northern

Israel, Israel conducting air raids against PLO positions, and the SLA continuing its efforts to consolidate power inthe border region.

Conflicts between Syria and the PhalangeHowever, the peace pact between Israel and Egypt made Syria change its mind, and support was withdrawn from theChristians and turned towards the Palestinians. Syria, meanwhile, clashed with the Phalange, a Maronite militia ledby Bachir Gemayel, whose increasingly aggressive actions - such as his April 1981 attempt to capture the strategiccity of Zahlé in central Lebanon - were designed to thwart the Syrian goal of brushing aside Gemayel and installingSuleiman Frangieh as president. Consequently, the de facto alliance between Israel and Gemayel strengthenedconsiderably. In April 1981, for instance, during fighting in Zahle, Gemayel called for Israeli assistance. IsraeliPrime Minister Begin responded by sending Israeli fighter jets to the scene, which shot down two Syrianhelicopters.[8] This led to Syrian President Hafiz al-Assad's decision to place surface-to-air missiles on the hillyperimeter of Zahle.

Israeli bombing of BeirutOn 17 July 1981, Israeli aircraft bombed multi-story apartment buildings in Beirut that contained offices of PLOassociated groups. The Lebanese delegate to the United Nations Security Council reported that 300 civilians hadbeen killed, and 800 wounded. The bombing led to worldwide condemnation, and a temporary embargo on theexport of U.S. aircraft to Israel.[9]

Israel plans for attackIn August, Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin was re-elected, and in September, Begin and his defense ministerAriel Sharon began to lay plans for a second invasion of Lebanon for the purpose of driving out the PLO. Sharon'sintention was to "destroy the PLO military infrastructure and, if possible, the PLO leadership itself; this would meanattacking West Beirut, where the PLO headquarters and command bunkers were located".[10]

Sharon also wanted to ensure the presidency of Bashir Gemayel. In return for Israeli assistance, Sharon expected Gemayel, once installed as president, to sign a peace treaty with Israel, presumably stabilizing forever Israel's northern border. Begin brought Sharon's plan before the Knesset in December 1981; however, after strong objections were raised, Begin felt compelled to set the plan aside. But Sharon continued to press the issue. In January 1982, Sharon met with Gemayel on an Israeli vessel off the coast of Lebanon and discussed a plan "that would bring Israeli forces as far north as the edge of Beirut International Airport".[11] In February, with Begin's input, Yehoshua Seguy, the chief of military intelligence, was sent to Washington to discuss the issue of Lebanon with Secretary of State

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Alexander Haig. In the meeting, Haig "stressed that there could be no assault without a major provocation fromLebanon".[12]

Israel-PLO security situation

The PLO routinely attacked Israel during the period of the cease-fire, with over 270 documented attacks. People inGalilee regularly had to leave their homes during these shellings. Documents captured in PLO headquarters after theinvasion showed they had come from Lebanon.[13]

In addition, Arafat refused to condemn attacks occurring outside of Lebanon, on the grounds that the cease-fire wasonly relevant to the Lebanese theater.[14] Arafat's interpretation underscored the fact that the cease-fire agreement didnothing to address ongoing violence between the PLO and Israel in other theaters. Israel thus continued to weatherPLO attacks throughout the cease-fire period.

Third phase 1982–1983

Israeli invasion of Lebanon

Map showing power balance in Lebanon, 1983:Green - controlled by Syria, purple - controlled

by Christian groups, yellow - controlled by Israel,blue - controlled by the United Nations

Argov assassination

On 3 June 1982, the Abu Nidal Organization attempted to assassinateIsraeli ambassador Shlomo Argov in London. Abu Nidal hadassassinated numerous PLO diplomats, and attempted to kill bothArafat and Mahmud Abbas, and was in fact condemned to death by thePLO.[15] Additionally, British intelligence reported that the attempthad likely been sponsored by Iraq, and Israeli intelligence agreed.However, Ariel Sharon and Menachem Begin ordered a retaliatoryaerial attack on PLO and PFLP targets in West Beirut that led to over100 casualties.[12]

The PLO responded by launching a counterattack from Lebanon,without consulting its government, with rockets and artillery, whichalso constituted a clear violation of the cease-fire. This was theimmediate excuse of Israel's subsequent decision to invade.Meanwhile, on 5 June, the UN Security Council unanimously passedResolution 508 calling for "all the parties to the conflict to ceaseimmediately and simultaneously all military activities within Lebanon and across the Lebanese-Israeli border and nolater than 0600 hours local time on Sunday, 6 June 1982."[16]

Israel invades

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Israeli troops in South Lebanon, June, 1982

Israel launched Operation Peace for Galilee on 6 June 1982, attackingPLO bases in Lebanon. Israeli forces quickly drove 25 miles (40 km)into Lebanon, moving into East Beirut with the tacit support ofMaronite leaders and militia. When the Israeli cabinet convened toauthorize the invasion, Sharon described it as a plan to advance 40kilometers into Lebanon, demolish PLO strongholds, and establish anexpanded security zone that would put northern Israel out of range ofPLO rockets. In fact, Israeli chief of staff Rafael Eitan and Sharon hadalready ordered the invading forces to head straight for Beirut, inaccord with Sharon's blueprint dating to September 1981. After the

invasion had begun, the UN Security Council passed a further resolution on 6 June 1982, Resolution 509, whichreaffirms UNSCR 508 and "demands that Israel withdraw all its military forces forthwith and unconditionally to theinternationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon".[17] Thus far the US had not used its veto. However, on 8 June1982, the US vetoed a proposed resolution that "reiterates [the] demand that Israel withdraw all its military forcesforthwith and unconditionally to the internationally recognized boundaries of Lebanon",[18] thereby giving implicitassent to the Israeli invasion.

Siege of Beirut

An aerial view of the stadium used as anammunition supply site for the PLO after Israeli

airstrikes in 1982

By 15 June 1982, Israeli units were entrenched outside Beirut. TheUnited States called for PLO withdrawal from Lebanon, and Sharonbegan to order bombing raids of West Beirut, targeting some 16,000PLO fedayeen who had retreated into fortified positions. Meanwhile,Arafat attempted through negotiations to salvage politically what wasclearly a disaster for the PLO, an attempt which eventually succeededonce the multinational force arrived to evacuate the PLO.

The fighting in Beirut killed more than 6,700 people of whom the vastmajority were civilians. Combatants killed included 500 PLO, morethan 400 Lebanese, over 100 Syrians and 88 Israelis. Fierce artilleryduels between the IDF and the PLO, and PLO shelling of Christianneighborhoods of East Beirut at the outset gave way to escalating aerial IDF bombardment beginning on 21 July1982.[19] It is commonly estimated that during the entire campaign, approximately 20,000 were killed on all sides,including many civilians, and 30,000 were wounded.

Negotiations for a cease-fire

On 26 June, a UN Security Council resolution was proposed that "demands the immediate withdrawal of the Israeliforces engaged round Beirut, to a distance of 10 kilometers from the periphery of that city, as a first step towards thecomplete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Lebanon, and the simultaneous withdrawal of the Palestinian armedforces from Beirut, which shall retire to the existing camps";[20] the United States vetoed the resolution because itwas "a transparent attempt to preserve the PLO as a viable political force",[21] However, President Regean made animpassioned plea to Prime Minister Begin to end the siege. Begin called back within minutes informing the Presidentthat he had given the order to end the attack. [22]

Finally, amid escalating violence and civilian casualties, Philip Habib was once again sent to restore order, which heaccomplished on 12 August on the heels of IDF's intensive, day-long bombardment of West Beirut. TheHabib-negotiated truce called for the withdrawal of both Israeli and PLO elements, as well as a multinational forcecomposed of U.S. Marines along with French and Italian units that would ensure the departure of the PLO andprotect defenseless civilians.

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International intervention

US Navy Amphibian arriving in Beirut, 1982

A multinational force landed in Beirut on 20 August 1982 to overseethe PLO withdrawal from Lebanon and U.S. mediation resulted in theevacuation of Syrian troops and PLO fighters from Beirut. Theagreement also provided for the deployment of a multinational forcecomposed of U.S. Marines along with French, Italian and British units.However, Israel reported that some 2,000 PLO militants were hiding inPalestinian refugee camps on the outskirts of Beirut.

Bachir Gemayel was elected president under Israeli military control on23 August. Many, especially in the Muslim circles, feared hisrelationship with Israel. He was assassinated on 14 September.

Sabra and Shatila Massacre

After conferring with Phalange members (as 19 of the Phalange leaders had been killed with Gemayel), Sharon andEitan bypassed the Israeli cabinet and sent Israeli troops into West Beirut, violating the Habib agreement; thesetroops helped transport approximately 200 Phalange personnel to the camps. On 16 September at 6:00 P.M. theforces arrived at the broad Sabra slum which surrounded the tightly back Palestinians camp. The Phalangistsremained in the slum until the morning of 19 September, killing an estimated 700-3,000 people, most of whom werepoor Lebanese and Syrian slum squatters. The forces could not penetrate the tightly packed camp of Shatila, whichstill housed many combatants that fired back. Merip reporters who have interviewed some of the attacking soldiersfound that these soldiers were victims of the Damour massacre, having lost their families to the attacking PLOforces.The Kahan Commission was set up by the Israeli government to investigate the circumstances of the massacre. TheDefence Minister, Ariel Sharon, was found to bear personal responsibility[23] "for ignoring the danger of bloodshedand revenge" and "not taking appropriate measures to prevent bloodshed". Sharon's negligence in protecting thecivilian population of Beirut, which had come under Israeli control amounted to a non-fulfillment of a duty withwhich the Defence Minister was charged. The Commission arrived to similar conclusions with respect to Chief ofStaff, Lt. Gen. Rafael Eitan, finding his actions were tantamount to a breach of duty that was incumbent upon theChief of Staff. The Commission recommended that Sharon resign his post as Defense Minister, which he did, thoughhe remained in the government as an influential Minister without Portfolio.[24]

Amin Gemayel's Inauguration, Beirut 1982

The massacres made the headlines all over the world, and calls wereheard for the international community to assume responsibility forstabilizing Lebanon. As a result, the multinational forces that hadbegun exiting Lebanon after the PLO's evacuation returned as peacekeepers. With U.S. backing, Amine Gemayel was chosen by theLebanese parliament to succeed his brother as President and focusedanew on securing the withdrawal of Israeli and Syrian forces.

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17 May Agreement

On 17 May 1983, Lebanon's Amine Gemayel, Israel, and the United States signed an agreement[25] text on Israeliwithdrawal that was conditioned on the departure of Syrian troops; reportedly after the US and Israel exerted severepressure on Gemayel. The agreement stated that "the state of war between Israel and Lebanon has been terminatedand no longer exists." Thus, the agreement in effect amounted to a peace agreement with Israel, and was additionallyseen by many Lebanese Muslims as an attempt for Israel to gain a permanent hold on the Lebanese South.[26] The 17May Agreement was widely portrayed in the Arab world as an imposed surrender, and Amin Gemayel was accusedof acting as a Quisling President; tensions in Lebanon hardened considerably. Syria strongly opposed the agreementand declined to discuss the withdrawal of its troops, effectively stalemating further progress.In August 1983, Israel withdrew from the Chouf District (southeast of Beirut), thus removing the buffer between theDruze and the Christian militias and triggering another round of brutal fighting. By September, the Druze had gainedcontrol over most of the Chouf, and Israeli forces had pulled out from all but the southern security zone. The IDFwould remain in this zone until 2000.

Resurging violence

The virtual collapse of the Lebanese Army in February 1984, following the defection of many Muslim and Druzeunits to militias, was a major blow to the government. With the U.S. Marines looking ready to withdraw, Syria andMuslim groups stepped up pressure on Gemayel. On 5 March the Lebanese Government canceled the 17 MayAgreement, and the Marines departed a few weeks later.

Picture of the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing

This period of chaos witnessed the beginning of attacks against U.S.and Western interests, such as the 18 April 1983 suicide attack at theU.S. Embassy in West Beirut, which killed 63. Following the bombing,the Reagan White House "ordered naval bombardments of Druzepositions, which resulted in numerous casualties, mostlynon-combatant," and the "reply to the American bombardments" wasthe suicide attack.[27] Then, on 23 October 1983, a devastating suicidebombing in Beirut targeted the headquarters of the U.S. and Frenchforces, killing 241 American and 58 French servicemen.[28] On 18January 1984, American University of Beirut President Malcolm Kerrwas murdered. After US forces withdrew in February 1984, anti-USattacks continued, including a second bombing of the U.S. embassyannex in East Beirut on 20 September 1984, which killed 9, including 2 U.S. servicemen. The situation becameserious enough to compel the U.S. State Department to invalidate US passports for travel to Lebanon in 1987, atravel ban that was only lifted 10 years later in 1997.

During these years, Hezbollah emerged from a loose coalition of Shi'a groups resisting the Israeli occupation, andsplintered from the main Shi'a movement, Nabih Berri's Amal Movement. The group found inspiration for itsrevolutionary Islamism in the Iranian Revolution of 1979, and gained early support from about 1,500 IranianPasdaran Guards. With Iranian assistance, and a large pool of disaffected Shi'a refugees from which to draw support,Hezbollah quickly grew into a strong fighting force.

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Fourth phase 1984–1990

Worsening conflict and political crisisBetween 1985 and 1989, sectarian conflict worsened as various efforts at national reconciliation failed. Heavyfighting took place in the War of the Camps of 1985-86 as a Syrian-backed coalition headed by the Amal militiasought to rout the PLO from their Lebanese strongholds. Many Palestinians died, and the Sabra, Shatila, and Bourjal-Barajneh refugee camps were largely destroyed. (Fisk, 609)Major combat returned to Beirut in 1987, when Palestinians, leftists, and Druze fighters allied against Amal,eventually drawing further Syrian intervention. Violent confrontation flared up again in Beirut in 1988 betweenAmal and Hezbollah. Hezbollah swiftly seized command of several Amal-held parts of the city, and for the first timeemerged as a strong force in the capital.

Aoun government

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rashid Karami, head of a government of national unity set up after the failed peaceefforts of 1984, was assassinated on 1 June 1987. President Gemayel's term of office expired in September 1988.Before stepping down, he appointed another Maronite Christian, Lebanese Armed Forces Commanding GeneralMichel Aoun, as acting Prime Minister, contravening the National Pact. Conflict in this period was also exacerbatedby increasing Iraqi involvement, as Saddam Hussein searched for proxy battlefields for the Iran–Iraq War. Tocounter Iran's influence through Amal and Hezbollah, Iraq backed Christian groups; Saddam Hussein helped Aounand the Lebanese Forces led by Samir Geagea between 1988-1990.[29]

Muslim groups rejected the violation of the National Pact and pledged support to Selim al-Hoss, a Sunni who hadsucceeded Karami. Lebanon was thus divided between a Christian military government in East Beirut and a civiliangovernment in West Beirut.

Aoun's "War of Liberation"

On 14 March 1989, Aoun launched what he termed a "war of liberation" against the Syrians and their Lebanesemilitia allies. As a result, Syrian pressure on his Lebanese Army and militia pockets in East Beirut grew. Still, Aounpersisted in the "war of liberation", denouncing the regime of Hafez al-Assad and claiming that he fought forLebanon's independence. While he seems to have had significant Christian support for this, he was still perceived asa sectarian leader among others by the Muslim population, who distrusted his agenda. He was also plagued by thechallenge to his legitimacy put forth by the Syrian-backed West Beirut government of Selim al-Hoss. Militarily, thiswar did not achieve its goal. Instead, it caused considerable damages to East Beirut and provoked massiveemigration among the Christian population.

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Taif Agreement

An estimate of the distribution of Lebanon's mainreligious groups, 1991, based on a map by

GlobalSecurity.org

The Taif Agreement of 1989 marked the beginning of the end of thefighting. In January of that year, a committee appointed by the ArabLeague, chaired by Kuwait and including Saudi Arabia, Algeria, andMorocco, began to formulate solutions to the conflict. This led to ameeting of Lebanese parliamentarians in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia, wherethey agreed to the national reconciliation accord in October. Theagreement provided a large role for Syria in Lebanese affairs.Returning to Lebanon, they ratified the agreement on 4 November andelected Rene Mouawad as President the following day. Military leaderMichel Aoun in East Beirut refused to accept Mouawad, anddenounced the Taif Agreement.

Mouawad was assassinated 16 days later in a car bombing in Beirut on22 November as his motorcade returned from Lebanese independenceday ceremonies. He was succeeded by Elias Hrawi (who remained inoffice until 1998). Aoun again refused to accept the election, anddissolved Parliament.

Infighting in East Beirut

On 16 January 1990, General Aoun ordered all Lebanese media tocease using terms like "President" or "Minister" to describe Hrawi and other participants in the Taif government. TheLebanese Forces, which had grown into a rival power broker in the Christian parts of the capital, protested bysuspending all its broadcasts. Tension with the LF grew, as Aoun feared that the LF was planning to link up with theHrawi administration.

On 31 January 1990, LF forces, fearing Aoun's growing popularity, attacked Lebanese army positions all along thenorthern Christian parts of Lebanon and took over most of the area. At that point, the LF's popularity among theChristian sect dropped drastically due to its attack on their army and its alliance with Syria becoming clearer. Thisalso brought fierce fighting to East Beirut, and the LF made initial advances, in the second intra-Christian war.In August 1990, the Lebanese Parliament, which, didn't heed Aoun's order to dissolve, and the new president agreedon constitutional amendments embodying some of the political reforms envisioned at Taif. The National Assemblyexpanded to 128 seats and was for the first time divided equally between Christians and Muslims.As Saddam Hussein focused his attention on Kuwait, Iraqi supplies to Aoun dwindled.On 13 October, Syria launched the 13 October attack, a major operation involving its army, air force (for the firsttime since Zahle's siege in 1981) against Aoun's stronghold around the presidential palace, taking advantage of theinternal Christian war between Aoun and the LF, where hundreds of Aoun supporters were killed by Syrian troops. Itthen cleared out the last Aounist pockets. Aoun went to the French Embassy to negotiated a cease-fire with theSyrians and all militias from West Beirut. However some say the cease-fire negotiations turned out to be a scam inorder to remove Aoun away from the Presidential palace and command center. Later on, he announced over the radiothat the war is over and stayed in Beirut until a safe exit to Paris was available because of the Syrian political agendaof eliminating Aoun.William Harris claims that the Syrian operation could not take place until Syria had reached an agreement with theUnited States, that in exchange for support against the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein in the Persian Gulf War, itwould convince Israel not to attack Syrian aircraft approaching Beirut. Aoun claimed in 1990 that the United States"has sold Lebanon to Syria".[30]

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Lebanese Civil War 19

The war in Lebanon and the fighting in East Beirut is a main theme in Rahbi Almedene's novel Kooliaids; the Art ofWar.

EndIn March 1991, parliament passed an amnesty law that pardoned all political crimes prior to its enactment. Theamnesty was not extended to crimes perpetrated against foreign diplomats or certain crimes referred by the cabinet tothe Higher Judicial Council. In May 1991, the militias (with the important exception of Hezbollah) were dissolved,and the Lebanese Armed Forces began to slowly rebuild themselves as Lebanon's only major non-sectarianinstitution.Some violence still occurred. In late December 1991 a car bomb (estimated to carry 220 pounds of TNT) exploded inthe Muslim neighborhood of Basta. At least thirty people were killed, and 120 wounded, including former PrimeMinister Shafik Wazzan, who was riding in a bulletproof car.

Legacy

War-damaged buildings in Beirut

Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted severalelections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, andthe Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central governmentauthority over about two-thirds of the country. Following the cease-firewhich ended the 12 July 2006 Israeli-Lebanese conflict, the army hasfor the first time in over three decades moved to occupy and control thesouthern areas of Lebanon. Only Hezbollah retains its weapons, due towhat it claims is legitimate resistance against Israel in the Shebaafarms area.

Lebanon still bears deep scars from the civil war. In all, it is estimated that more than 100,000 people were killed,and another 100,000 permanently handicapped by injuries. Approximately 900,000 people, representing one-fifth ofthe pre-war population, were displaced from their homes. Perhaps a quarter of a million emigrated permanently.Thousands of land mines remain buried in the previously contested areas. Some Western hostages kidnapped duringthe mid-1980s (many claim by Hezbollah, though the movement denies this) were held until June 1992.[31] Lebanesevictims of kidnapping and wartime "disappeared" number in the tens of thousands.

Car bombs became a favored weapon of violent groups worldwide, following their frequent, and often effective, useduring the war. In the 15 years of strife, there were at least 3,641 car bombs, which left 4,386 people dead andthousands more injured.[32] Other favorite weapons were the AK-47 and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs).

References[1] Baroudi and Tabar 2009[2] http:/ / www. arab-american. net/ Historical_Chronology_of_Lebanon. pdf[3] Bregman and El-Tahri (1998), 158pp. (This reference only mentions Israel.)[4] Charles D. Smith, Palestine and the Arab Israeli Conflict, p. 354.[5] Fisk, pp. 78-81[6] "133 Statement to the press by Prime Minister Begin on the massacre of Israelis on the Haifa - Tel Aviv Road- 12 March 1978" (http:/ / www.

mfa. gov. il/ MFA/ Foreign Relations/ Israels Foreign Relations since 1947/ 1977-1979/ 133 Statement to the press by Prime Minister Begin),Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 1977-79

[7] Smith, op. cit., 355.[8] Smith, op. cit., p. 373.[9] "The Bombing of Beirut". Journal of Palestine Studies 11 (1): 218–225. 1981. doi:10.1525/jps.1981.11.1.00p0366x.[10] Smith, op. cit., p. 377.[11] Time, 15 February 1982, cited in Chomsky, op. cit., 195.

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[12] Smith, op. cit., p. 378.[13] Jillian Becker, The PLO, (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1984), pp. 202, 279.[14] Smith, op. cit., p. 376.[15] Chomsky, op. cit., p. 196.[16] "United Nations Security Council Resolution 508" (http:/ / www. jewishvirtuallibrary. org/ jsource/ UN/ unres508. html), Jewish Virtual

Library[17] "United Nations Security Council Resolution 509" (http:/ / www. globalpolicy. org/ security/ issues/ lebanon/ res509. htm), Global Policy

Forum[18] "United Nations Security Council Draft Resolution of 8 June 1982 (Spain) (http:/ / domino. un. org/ UNISPAL. NSF/ 0/

ac89a782537a6d500525653100617a17?OpenDocument), United Nations[19] George W. Gawrych, "Siege of Beirut (http:/ / www. globalsecurity. org/ military/ library/ report/ 2002/ MOUTGawrych. htm),

GlobalSecurity.org[20] "United Nations Security Council Revised Draft Resolution of 25 June 1982 (France) (http:/ / domino. un. org/ UNISPAL. NSF/ 0/

d441628eb0b68ad205256531005fa3eb?OpenDocument), United Nations[21] New York Times, 27 June 1982, cited in Chomsky, op. cit., p. 198[22] http:/ / www. ontheissues. org/ Celeb/ Ronald_Reagan_War_+ _Peace. htm[23] Schiff, Ze'ev; Ehud Ya'ari (1984). Israel's Lebanon War. Simon and Schuster. p. 284. ISBN 0-671-47991-1.[24] Chomsky, op. cit., 406.[25] "17 May Agreement" (http:/ / www. lebanese-forces. org/ lebanon/ agreements/ may17. htm), Lebanese Armed Forces[26] "Israel and South Lebanon" (http:/ / www. washington-report. org/ backissues/ 030584/ 840305003. html), Washington Report on Middle

East Affairs, 5 March 1984, Page 3[27] Smith, op. cit., 383.[28] "Iran responsible for 1983 Marine barracks bombing, judge rules" (http:/ / www. cnn. com/ 2003/ LAW/ 05/ 30/ iran. barracks. bombing),

CNN, 30 May 2003[29] "Doctrine, Dreams Drive Saddam Hussein" (http:/ / www. washingtonpost. com/ wp-srv/ inatl/ longterm/ iraq/ keyplayers/ saddam081290.

htm), Washington Post, 12 August 1990[30] Harris, p. 260[31] "Lebanon (Civil War 1975-1991)" (http:/ / www. globalsecurity. org/ military/ world/ war/ lebanon. htm), GlobalSecurity.org[32] "Lebanon: The Terrible Tally of Death" (http:/ / www. time. com/ time/ magazine/ article/ 0,9171,975156,00. html?promoid=googlep).

Time. 23 March 1992. . Retrieved 7 May 2010.

Further reading• Al-Baath wa-Lubnân [Arabic only] ("The Baath and Lebanon"), NY Firzli, Beirut, Dar-al-Tali'a Books, 1973.• The Iraq-Iran Conflict, NY Firzli, Paris, EMA, 1981. ISBN 2-86584-002-6• Bregman, Ahron (2002). Israel's Wars: A History Since 1947. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-28716-2• Bregman, Ahron and El-Tahri, Jihan (1998). The Fifty Years War: Israel and the Arabs. London: BBC Books.

Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14-026827-8• The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon, 1967-1976 Khazen Farid El (2000) (ISBN 0-674-08105-6)• The Bullet Collection, a book by Patricia Sarrafian Ward, is an excellent account of human experience during the

Lebanese Civil War.• Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92 O'Ballance Edgar (1998) (ISBN 0-312-21593-2)• Crossroads to Civil War: Lebanon 1958-1976 Salibi Kamal S. (1976) (ISBN 0-88206-010-4)• Death of a country: The civil war in Lebanon. Bulloch John (1977) (ISBN 0-297-77288-0)• Faces of Lebanon: Sects, Wars, and Global Extensions (Princeton Series on the Middle East) Harris William W

(1997) (ISBN 1-55876-115-2)• The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians Noam Chomsky (1983, 1999) (ISBN

0-89608-601-1)• History of Syria Including Lebanon and Palestine, Vol. 2 Hitti Philip K. (2002) (ISBN 1-931956-61-8)• Lebanon: A Shattered Country: Myths and Realities of the Wars in Lebanon, Revised Edition Picard, Elizabeth

(2002) (ISBN 0-8419-1415-X)• Lebanon in Crisis: Participants and Issues (Contemporary Issues in the Middle East) Haley P. Edward, Snider

Lewis W. (1979) (ISBN 0-8156-2210-4)• Lebanon: Fire and Embers: A History of the Lebanese Civil War by Hiro, Dilip (1993) (ISBN 0-312-09724-7)

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• Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War Fisk, Robert (2001) (ISBN 0-19-280130-9)• Syria and the Lebanese Crisis Dawisha A. I. (1980) (ISBN 0-312-78203-9)• Syria's Terrorist War on Lebanon and the Peace Process Deeb Marius (2003) (ISBN 1-4039-6248-0)• The War for Lebanon, 1970-1985 Rabinovich Itamar (1985) (ISBN 0-8014-9313-7)• Palestine and the Arab-Israeli Conflict, fourth edition, Charles D. Smith (2001) (ISBN 0-312-20828-6)

(paperback)• From Beirut to Jerusalem. Thomas Friedman.

External links• Center for Lebanese Study (http:/ / users. ox. ac. uk/ ~shehadi/ contents. htm)-Oxford University• A detailed chronology on the Lebanese War (http:/ / www. cedarland. org/ war. html)-Cederland• Lebanon's Forgotten Civil War (http:/ / www. library. cornell. edu/ colldev/ mideast/ civwr1. htm)-Washington

Post Foreign Service 20 December 1999• Pictures of Battle Scared Beirut (http:/ / www. traveladventures. org/ continents/ asia/ beyrut3. shtml)-Travel

Adventures.Primary sources• Lebanese civil war from 13 April 1975 to 13 October 1990 & War on Lebanon 2006 Full of pictures (http:/ /

liberty05. com)• “Another Battle of Beirut ” (Time Magazine, 14 May 1973) (http:/ / www. time. com/ time/ magazine/ article/

0,9171,907221,00. html?iid=chix-sphere)• “The Palestinian Fedayeen” (Declassified CIA Report, 1971) (http:/ / www. cryptome. org/ cia-pulp/ cia-esau-49.

pdf)• The Lebanese civil war and the Taef agreement (http:/ / ddc. aub. edu. lb/ projects/ pspa/ conflict-resolution. html)• Full Lebanese War Photo System (http:/ / lebwar. org/ gallery)• A 15-episode documentary about the Lebanese Civil War, 1975-1990 (http:/ / tyros. leb. net/ lebwar/ )

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Article Sources and Contributors 22

Article Sources and ContributorsLebanese Civil War  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=407510876  Contributors: 4destruction, 4lphirt, A Nobody, A.h. king, Aaronjsussman, Abnn, Adam Bishop, Addoula,Ageofe, Ah2702, Ahmadhibrahim, Ahoerstemeier, Aivazovsky, Al Ameer son, Alaexis, Aldis90, Aleverde, Alex43223, Amman12, AndresHerutJaim, Ardfern, Arre, Art LaPella, Asams10, Ashsul, Ashley kennedy3, Askhaiz, Atmleb, Auspx, Auto469680, Averell23, Azores, Añoranza, BD2412, Backscars, BanyanTree, Banzai!, Bash, Bashir.sadjad, Bastique, BeckyBeck, Betacommand,Bigfatteddybear, Bkwillwm, Blind Man Walking, Blueking12, Bobblehead, Bobblewik, Bobo192, Bogfatpig, Bookofjude, Boson, Brendanconway, Brentford, BusterD, Calcio33, Caltas, Carter,Cederal, Cedrus-Libani, Chazzilla, Chess.instructor, Chobbs138, Chocolateboy, Chris Bainbridge, Cmdrjameson, Colonies Chris, CommonsDelinker, Crocodilicus, CylonCAG, D6, DJ Silverfish,Dan100, Danielkueh, Danrolo, Dany Noumour Chamoun, David Biddulph, De Administrando Imperio, DePiep, DeansFA, Deborgio, Degen Earthfast, Dekisugi, Demiurge1000, Derekbridges,Descendall, Deville, Dfg4w5ggdf, Dina, Dinopup, Doge120, Doug Danner, Dougweller, Drmies, DruidODurham, DuaneMarch, Dungodung, Dvgrn, Eastlaw, Edcolins, El C, Engelberg,EnterPuppets, Equitor, Eric-Wester, Eternity212, Everyking, Exploding Boy, Faigl.ladislav, Farazars, Ffirehorse, Filippowiki, Formeruser-81, FrancescoMazzucotelli, Francs2000, FunkMonk,Gabi S., Gaius Cornelius, Galwhaa, Gangasrotogati, Gbinal, George, Graf Bobby, Gramaic, Grandmasterka, Grenavitar, Gtrgrl, Gurch, Guy Montag, HanzoHattori, Heraclius,Heroeswithmetaphors, Hertz1888, Humus sapiens, Hydrox, II MusLiM HyBRiD II, IRISZOOM, Ian Burnet, Ian Pitchford, Icseaturtles, Igor, Ilovemrdoe, Imeisel, Iridescent, Ishamid,It's-is-not-a-genitive, Izzedine, J'raxis, J.delanoy, J04n, Jackyd101, Jarmenkell, Jayjg, Jeff.Hull, Jessekaboom, Jewpac, JidGom, JimmB, Johan Jönsson, John Ball, Jonas Salk, Joonasl, Jopsach,Joyson Noel, Justjack314, Jwittich, KCinDC, Kaaveh Ahangar, Kaisershatner, Kassjab, Katous1978, Kendrick7, Khoikhoi, Killerman2, Kintetsubuffalo, Kiosa, Kirachinmoku, Kirill Lokshin,KittySaturn, Kosmopolis, Kungfuadam, Lapsed Pacifist, Le jugle, Lebanese bebe, Lebanonkid1, Lexicon, Libanoser, Lightmouse, Lihaas, LilHelpa, Lowellian, MER-C, MLeb, MPS, MaTTJJ,Madhero88, Magnusmarkussen, Mandarax, Marek69, Marioz, Masseman, Matthewrbowker, Max rspct, Maxim, Mboverload, Mexicoboy21, Michael1408, Mickel123, Midgrid, Midway,Mike9008, Mikrobølgeovn, Mild Bill Hiccup, Mimihitam, Miotroyo, Modulatum, Moeron, Moorehaus, Mosz0r, Motacilla, Mr Adequate, Mr Stephen, MrRadioGuy, Mrmanhattanproject, Mte01,Muta112, Mystictim, Nableezy, Naddy, Nassib91, Nescio, Netjeff, Nicodemus75, Nimur, Nirvanakcid, NissanHonner, Nixer, Nobart, Nyh, O Fenian, Ojcb2, Old Historian, Omar 180, OnurRC,P. Romack, PBP, Palmiro, PamD, Patrickneil, Paxsimius, Pburka, Pearle, Pecher, Perspicacite, PeteShanosky, Piano non troppo, Pishaward, Plastikspork, Propaganda328, Prowsej, Publicus,Puchiko, Purple XS2, Qasamaan, RandallC, RazeYathrib, Rettetast, Rich Farmbrough, Ricky81682, Rmhermen, RobNS, Ronda2001, Ronhjones, RoswellAliens, Royboycrashfan, Rsocol,Rsumme01, RudyB, Russavia, RyanEberhart, Sam Hocevar, Sambazzi, Scryer 360, Selfworm, Senemmar, Sgarlatm, Shamir1, ShantiSena, Shaque, SimonP, SnowFire, Snowy150, Ssbb4, StanShebs, Stevertigo, Style, SunlightSeeker, Surv1v4l1st, Susilsumathipala, Tallicfan20, Tanaats, Tanuki Z, Tewfik, Tfine80, The False Prophet, TigerShark, TimBentley, Tmopkisn, Tom, TonyMakhlouf, Tpb, Tslocum, Tundrabuggy, Twas Now, Ulric1313, Uncle.bungle, Uranometria, Uriber, Van der Hoorn, Van helsing, Vasile, Victor falk, Vik-Thor, Vin Kaleu, Vints, Viriditas,Waelkdouh, Washburnmav, WhisperToMe, WikHead, Wikieditoroftoday, Wikifan12345, Wikighada, Will taylor, William Avery, WisamFarouk, Wk muriithi, Wknight94, Woohookitty,Woonhocho, XhiloX, YSSYguy, Ynhockey, Yonidebest, Youssefaoun, Yuber, ZGM, Zdenek F, Zeitgeist, Zen611, Zenosparadox, Zer0faults, Zero0000, Zscout370, ^demon, Александър, 739anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsImage:18620eventsChristianrefugees.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:18620eventsChristianrefugees.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: FunkMonk,Gugganij, 1 anonymous editsImage:USMC-Lebanon82-4.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:USMC-Lebanon82-4.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Department of Defense (USMC)Image:Phoenician ship.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Phoenician_ship.jpg  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors: NMB Original uploader wasElie plus at en.wikipediaImage:Logo Kataeb.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Logo_Kataeb.svg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: User:BeaoImage:Flag of the Amal Movement.svg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_the_Amal_Movement.svg  License: unknown  Contributors: LexiconImage:Syrian Social Nationalist Party.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Syrian_Social_Nationalist_Party.png  License: Public Domain  Contributors: IzzedineImage:Plo emblem.png  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Plo_emblem.png  License: unknown  Contributors: Abnn, Humus sapiens, Interiot, Melesse, Nimur, PhilKnight, 2anonymous editsImage:Civil war Lebanon map 1976a.gif  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Civil_war_Lebanon_map_1976a.gif  License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: A1, FunkMonkImage:Green Line, Beirut 1982.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Green_Line,_Beirut_1982.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0  Contributors: JamesCase from Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S.A.Image:Lebanon, Al Yatun 7-16 (1981).jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Lebanon,_Al_Yatun_7-16_(1981).jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0 Contributors: Marco K. from HollandaImage:BlueLine.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:BlueLine.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.5  Contributors: Axpde, Bontenbal, Mircea,Nableezy, Thomas Blomberg, Timeshifter, 2 anonymous editsImage:Civil war Lebanon map 1983a.gif  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Civil_war_Lebanon_map_1983a.gif  License: GNU Free Documentation License Contributors: A1, Boivie, FschoenmImage:Troepen idf.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Troepen_idf.jpg  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors: Original uploader was P.mielen atnl.wikipediaImage:Lebanon PLO ammunition stadium 1982.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Lebanon_PLO_ammunition_stadium_1982.jpg  License: Public Domain Contributors: PHAN ROBERT FEARYImage:Navy Amphibian, Beirut 1982.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Navy_Amphibian,_Beirut_1982.jpg  License: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Contributors: James Case from Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S.A.Image:Amin Gemayel Inauguration, Beirut 1982.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Amin_Gemayel_Inauguration,_Beirut_1982.jpg  License: Creative CommonsAttribution 2.0  Contributors: James Case from Philadelphia, Mississippi, U.S.A.Image:Beirutbarr.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Beirutbarr.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Bontenbal, Hailey C. Shannon, KTo288, Makthorpe, Shauni,ThuressonImage:Lebanon sectors map.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Lebanon_sectors_map.jpg  License: GNU Free Documentation License  Contributors: Ahmad HIbrahimAhmadhibrahim (talk). Original uploader was Ahmadhibrahim at en.wikipediaImage:Beirut- building from before civil war.jpeg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Beirut-_building_from_before_civil_war.jpeg  License: Creative CommonsAttribution 2.5  Contributors: User:bertilvidet

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