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Lebanese Civil War

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The Lebanese Civil War was a bloody and complex conflict that raged in Lebanon from 1975 until 1990.

During the era between independence and the 1970s Lebanon was viewed as a paragon of post-colonial success. It was the wealthiest state in the region, had a freer and more open society, and was a frequently cited example of inter-faith coexistence and cooperation in a region beset by internecine violence.

There were early problems, however. The cooperation between the economically dominant Maronite Christians and the majority Muslims was always tenuous. The very existence of the state was called into question by Arab nationalists leading to a brief civil war in 1958 that was only ended by the intervention of American soldiers.

On 13 April, 1975, in retaliation for on assassination attempt on a leader of the Phalange, Pierre Gemayel, the Phalangists, led by the Gemayels, massacred 27 Palestinians travelling on a bus in Ein Al-Rumaneh. In December, 1975, four Christians were killed in east Beirut. In growing reprisals, the Phalangists and Muslim militias subsequently massacred at least 600 Muslims and Christians at checkpoints, beginning the 1975-1976 civil war. Full-scale civil war broke out, with the Palestinians joining the Muslim forces, controlling an increasingly lawless West Beirut. In June, 1976, with the Maronites on the verge of defeat, the President called for Syrian intervention, who moved into the country and imposed a ceasefire (Fisk, pp. 78-81). After the arrival of Syria, Christian forces massacred 2,000 Palestinians in the Tel al-Za'atar camp in East Beirut [1]. Other massacres by both sides were committed at Karantina and Damour, where the PLO murdered 350 Christian civilians (Fisk, 99). Despite the Syrian occupation, fighting continued in Southern Lebanon. In the Fall of 1976, Arab summits in Riyadh and Cairo set out a plan to end the war. The resulting Arab Deterrent Force, which included Syrian troops already present, moved in to help separate combatants. An uneasy quiet settled over Beirut, and security conditions in the south began to deteriorate.

See also History of Lebanon


Major players

  • Lebanese Army: Lebanon had one of the smallest armies in the Middle East. It was unable to stand up to the PLO or other foreign backed groups. It was based on a fixed ratio of religions and many of its members left to train militias to protect their ethnic group.
  • Maronite Christians: an economically powerful group in Beirut, with a larger and poorer population in the north of the country. Many of these peasants immigrated to Beirut and became the members of the Christian militias.
  • Kataeb: Also known as Phalange. The most powerful of the Maronite militia groups
  • Sunni Muslims: The largest group in terms of population, also formed militias.
  • Leftist groups: a wide panoply of Marxist, Leninist, Trotskite, Maoist, and Stalinist organizations were the most radical representatives of the Sunni Muslims. They aligned with the Soviet Union.
  • Islamic Jihad: One of the first fundamentalist Islamic groups. Composed of Sunni Muslims.
  • Shi'ite Muslims: A poor section of society the bore the brunt of the fighting in southern Lebanon. Also large numbers in urban slums. Shi'ite militias fought both the Marionites and the Palestinians.
  • Hezbollah: A group of Iranian backed Shi'ites committed to the expulsion of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. It was responsible for the destruction of the US embassy and army barracks in 1983.
  • Druze: A Muslim schismatic group almost only found in Lebanon.
  • Palestinians: A large group of Palestinian refugees had lived in Lebanon since 1948. They were the poorest section of the Lebanese population and were excluded from mainstream society
  • Palestinian Liberation Organization: After Black September saw the PLO expelled from Jordan in 1971 the group moved to Lebanon and began to attack the Israelis. More powerful than the Lebanese army they set up a state within a state until they were forced to leave by the Americans in 1982.
  • Israel: In response to PLO and then Hezbollah activities Israel launched military operations against Lebanon through the civil war. The Israeli's aligned with the Maronites
  • Syria: Originally intervened on the side of the Maronites, but after Israeli involvement switched to backing the Sunni Muslim groups.
  • United States: attempted to intervene in the region to bring peace and prevent a leftist take over. Was forced to retreat after losing hundreds of soldiers in suicide bombings.
  • Guardians of the Cedars: Far-right, overwhelmingly Christian militia.

Minor players

The Lebanese War

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