68 entries on 65 dates · the books disagree on 68
dates 1–60 of 65 next
March 1970
Wednesday, 25 March 1970
The road to war · From the books
Bashir Gemayel is kidnapped and held in Tall al-Za'tar.
Kamal Jumblatt's intervention with Yasir Arafat freed Bashir Gemayel, the Kataeb leader's younger son, seized by Palestinians and held in Tall al-Za'tar camp.
Sources differ: Hanf: 25 March 1970, held eight hours. Ménargues: 1969, adding he was beaten. Jumblatt became interior minister after the November 1969 Cairo Agreement (Hanf), which fits late 1969 or 1970.
\_this day in full \_on this day
May 1973
Tuesday, 1 May 1973
The road to war · From the books
Palestinian guerrillas abduct three Lebanese soldiers.
The May 1973 crisis began when members of the Popular and Democratic Fronts abducted three Lebanese soldiers as hostages for the release of detained Palestinians.
Sources differ: Kidnappers: PFLP and DFLP (Hanf) or DFLP (de Clerck & Malsagne).
\_this day in full \_on this day
July 1975
Tuesday, 1 July 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Lebanon had a new Government
The new Cabinet included the following 6 members Rachid Karameh - Prime Minister, Minster of Finance, National Defense, and Information. Camille Chamoun - Minister of Interior, Minister of Posts and Telecommunications, and Hydraulic and Electric Resources. Adel Osseirane - Minster of Justice, Public Works, Economy and Trade Magid Arslane : Minster of Health, Agriculture, and Housing and Cooperatives. Philippe Takla - Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Education, and Plan. Ghassan Tueni - Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Tourism, and Industry and Oil. This government aimed, in a climate of daily fights and extreme tension, at dismantling barricades, taking away heavy armaments, suppressing defense positions, and reopening the roads.
What the books addHanf puts the cabinet's formation at the end of June and its announcement some two weeks before the 15 July confidence vote (83 for, none against, 16 Jumblatt supporters abstaining); Traboulsi's chronology gives 6 July. Neither the Kataeb nor Jumblatt was included. A cease-fire followed, which Traboulsi says was reached with Syrian mediators' help.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 6 July 1975
\_this day in full \_on this day
Wednesday, 2 July 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Al-Qaa, a Christian village of the northern Bekaa, comes under attack.
Several villagers were killed and houses and fields burned when gunmen besieged al-Qaa, a Christian village by the Syrian border. De Clerck and Malsagne date the Christian exodus from the northern Bekaa from this attack. Amal fighters from neighbouring villages later shielded al-Qaa and other Christian villages.
Sources differ: Attackers: fedayeen (Tegho Bou Nassif), local Shiites (de Clerck and Malsagne), or Fatah, Saiqa, SSNP, Communists and a Shiite clan (Hanf). Dead: 5 or 7. Hanf places the attack before the Karami cabinet was formed (late June).
\_this day in full \_on this day
August 1975
Friday, 29 August 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
After mortar and rocket exchanges in the streets of Zahleh made several victims, a partial curfew was imposed on the town.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne and Tegho Bou Nassif date Zahleh's entry into the war to 24 August 1975, when Palestinian fighters planted a bomb in its tourist district, Wadi al-Arayish. In Hanf's account, Zahleh's Christians and Shi'is of its outskirts and nearby villages, helped by Palestinian guerrillas, came to blows late in August after a non-political arcade quarrel. Three Zahleh men were executed at the end of August.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 24 August 1975
\_this day in full \_on this day
September 1975
Monday, 1 September 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Egypt and Israel initial the Sinai II agreement.
Egypt and Israel initialled the Kissinger-brokered Sinai II accord. De Clerck and Malsagne judge it disastrous for Lebanon. For Hanf, it weakened Syria, which pressed the PLO for coordination, and deepened Palestinian fears of liquidation.
Sources differ: Initialled on 1 September (Hanf; de Clerck and Malsagne's chronology); de Clerck and Malsagne's narrative gives 4 September, the signature in Geneva.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 4 September 1975
\_this day in full \_on this day
October 1975
Thursday, 30 October 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Yarmouk units enter the Bekaa near Zahleh.
Yarmouk units, a Palestinian force trained by the Syrian army, entered the Bekaa plain near Zahleh by way of Bar Elias. The bishop's diary shows that the Palestinian fighters in the district had until then been Fatah and its Lebanese allies.
Sources differ: Hanf dates the Yarmouk Brigade's crossing to 20 December.
\_this day in full \_on this day
January 1976
Friday, 30 January 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Lieutenant Ahmed Khatib left the Hasbaya barracks and announced the creation, in the Bekaa, of the Army of Arab Lebanon.
What the books addHistorians date Lieutenant Ahmad al-Khatib's breakaway to 21 January (de Clerck and Malsagne, in the Bekaa) or 22 January (Julie Tegho Bou Nassif, from the diary of the Greek Catholic bishop of Zahleh); Hanf places the mutiny in the south. About 300-400 Muslim soldiers followed him at first. The entry of 30 January may record a later step.
Other dates in the books: Wednesday, 21 January 1976, Thursday, 22 January 1976
\_this day in full \_on this day
March 1976
Thursday, 25 March 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The presidential palace at Baabda is shelled; Frangieh leaves for Kfour.
With the Baabda palace shelled by the Lebanese Arab Army and the Joint Forces, Frangieh moved to Kfour in Kesrouan, where he joined Chamoun, Gemayel and Father Qassis on the Lebanese Front, formed in late May.
Sources differ: Traboulsi says Frangieh took refuge 'in East Beirut'; de Clerck and Malsagne, Yara El Khoury and Hanf name Kfour in Kesrouan.
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The unified command of the Lebanese Forces is announced.
Baabda palace was shelled that day. In the evening the Kataeb's Voice of Lebanon radio announced a unified command of the Lebanese Forces, joining the Tanzim, the Guardians of the Cedars, Chamoun's Tigers and the Kataeb militia.
Sources differ: Dates differ: Ménargues puts the founding of the Lebanese Forces' unified command on 31 August 1976, while El Khoury says the formal union was announced to Frangieh in early September.
\_this day in full \_on this day
April 1976
Friday, 2 April 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A ten-day truce had bee decided, in order to elect a new President of the Republic after the expected departure of Sleiman Frangieh.
What the books addParliament used the truce to amend Article 73 of the constitution so that Frangieh's successor could be elected early: on 9 April according to Hanf, 10 April according to Yara El Khoury. The truce had coincided with the arrival on 31 March of the US envoy Dean Brown.
Other dates in the books: Wednesday, 31 March 1976, Friday, 9 April 1976, Saturday, 10 April 1976
\_this day in full \_on this day
May 1976
Saturday, 1 May 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Despite the Damascus agreement, fights continued violently. The elections were postponed to May 8, the two candidates being Elias Sarkis and Raymond Eddeh.
What the books addAccounts differ. Hanf has Raymond Eddé stand 'on principle', protesting at outside manipulation, and so become the Left's candidate; Traboulsi and de Clerck and Malsagne have him boycott the vote, Traboulsi because it could not be free.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 8 May 1976
\_this day in full \_on this day
June 1976
Tuesday, 1 June 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Syrian troops intervened in the Akkar region to raise the siege imposed on Kobeyate by officer Maamari from the 'Army of Arab Lebanon.' The Syrian contingent counted approximately 2000 men. 600 other soldiers entered the Bekaa region with over 200 tanks.
What the books addHistorians date the entry of Syrian regular troops to 1 June 1976 (Ménargues gives 9 June). President Assad announced it in the presence of the visiting Soviet Prime Minister Kosygin, citing appeals from the Akkar villages of Qubayat and Andaqit, besieged since January and attacked by the Lebanese Arab Army on 27 May. Columns moved towards Akkar and Tripoli, Zahleh and the Bekaa, and Sidon by way of Jezzine. Estimates of the force range from 6,000 men at the start (with 260 armoured vehicles, according to Ménargues) to 12,000-15,000 within weeks, with 250-300 tanks (de Clerck and Malsagne).
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 9 June 1976
\_this day in full \_on this day
Tuesday, 29 June 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Jisr al-Basha camp falls.
The small Palestinian camp of Jisr al-Basha, overlooking Tal al-Za'tar in East Beirut, fell to the Christian militias and army units, and was razed.
Sources differ: Hanf gives 1 July; Picard August; Yara El Khoury places its fall with Tal al-Za'tar on 12 August.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 1 July 1976
\_this day in full \_on this day
September 1977
Sunday, 25 September 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Following efforts deployed by the American government in Tel Aviv, a cease-fire came into effect in Southern Lebanon. During the past few days, fights reached their maximum intensity especially in the Khyam region.
What the books addIsrael's Christian allies emerged with a slightly wider strip, spanning nearly the whole frontier from sea to Hermon; Fisk dates the tank withdrawal to 26 September.
Other date in the books: Monday, 26 September 1977
\_this day in full \_on this day
March 1978
August 1978
Friday, 25 August 1978
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Imam Musa al-Sadr travels to Libya, where he disappears.
Imam Musa al-Sadr, the Shi'i leader who founded the Movement of the Deprived and Amal, vanished after accepting an invitation to visit Libya.
Sources differ: Hanf says September; Fisk reported the disappearance on 13 September; original entry 212 has 10 September.
Art and memory- book Fouad Ajami's book on the imam, The Vanished Imam: Musa al-Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon (1986).
\_this day in full \_on this day
January 1980
Friday, 25 January 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Fights opposed the Phalange Party and the NLP in Ehmej and Annaya. The road leading to Jbeil was closed. An acute crisis erupted between the two parties.
What the books addOne of many clashes between Kataeb and National Liberal militiamen: de Clerck and Malsagne count 46, with 200 dead, from 1976 to 1980, the latest wave running from 12 May 1979 to 2 July 1980 and reaching Achrafieh early in 1980. Ménargues traces the tension of early 1980 partly to disputes over dividing the arms Israel supplied.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 12 May 1979
\_this day in full \_on this day
April 1981
Thursday, 2 April 1981
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The battle of Zahleh begins.
From December 1980 the Syrian army held positions on the edge of Zahleh. Lebanese Forces fighters in the town repulsed its attack, and a siege of roughly 90 days followed, which Bashir Gemayel portrayed as a fight for 'the last Christian town' of the East.
Sources differ: Ménargues ends the siege on 30 June 1981 and Fisk by 1 July; de Clerck & Malsagne (p. 80) place the end of hostilities in May–June.
\_this day in full \_on this day
Wednesday, 29 April 1981
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syria deploys SAM missiles in the Bekaa: the 'missile crisis'.
A day after Israel downed two Syrian helicopters, Syria set up SAM-6 and SAM-2 batteries openly in the Bekaa, near Rayak and Chtaura. Israel demanded their removal; de Clerck and Malsagne see the deployment as the first direct Syrian-Israeli confrontation.
Sources differ: Traboulsi names the missiles as Sam 3, the other sources as SAM-6 and SAM-2. Traboulsi's own chronology (p. 252) places the battle of Zahleh and the missile crisis in March 1980, contradicting his main text.
\_this day in full \_on this day
June 1981
Tuesday, 30 June 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
95 militiamen from the Lebanese Forces were evacuated from Zahleh with their individual weapons after having surrendered their heavy weapons to the Arab Strike Force and to the Internal Security Forces. An Internal Security Forces unit was positioned in the neighborhoods of Zahleh.
What the books addMénargues has some 600 Internal Security Forces gendarmes entering Zahleh on 30 June, ending the siege, and the 95 fighters from outside the town leaving by bus over a mountain road behind a Syrian colonel's car, past Syrian troops posted along it; Hanf says they left under Saudi escort. Siege toll: 200 dead and over 2,000 wounded (Ménargues), over 200 and 2,000 (de Clerck and Malsagne), 300 and 3,000 by the Phalange's count (Fisk).
Art and memory- place Of 38 civilians in a warehouse basement by Zahleh's disused railway, one child survived when tank fire toppled the building; after the siege Fisk also found the town's dead under wooden crosses in a makeshift graveyard.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 1 July 1981
\_this day in full \_on this day
October 1981
Thursday, 1 October 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The horror record was broken. A car bomb devastated half of a street in the Boustani neighborhood in Tarik Jdideh killing 83 and injuring 225. Another car scheduled to explode a little bit later in the same area was defused.
What the books addThis bomb ended a wave of attacks (17 September to 2 October 1981, about 300 dead) that de Clerck and Malsagne, after Ronen Bergman, attribute to the 'Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners', set up by Israeli officers; Bergman says its car bombs from October 1981 aimed to provoke the Palestinians into a reprisal that would justify an invasion.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 17 September 1981
\_this day in full \_on this day
November 1981
Monday, 2 November 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Arab Strike Force launched a security operation in the West of the capital where Palestinian, Libyan and Iranian influence multiplied lately.
Other date in the books: Friday, 11 September 1981
\_this day in full \_on this day
June 1982
July 1982
Thursday, 29 July 1982
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israeli phosphorus shells hit the Bourj al-Barajneh camp.
At the Barbir hospital Dr Amal Shamaa logged 19 phosphorus burn cases from 6 June to 29 July, all civilians but one guerrilla. They included a woman and eleven relatives, still alight on arrival after a shell hit the family's two-storey shack in the camp.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 6 June 1982
\_this day in full \_on this day
August 1982
Sunday, 1 August 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The occupation of West Beirut turned into an annihilation war. Violent attacks killed 165 persons and wounded 400 others.
What the books addMénargues dates Israel's offensive to 2 August: 48 hours of non-stop artillery fire (280,000 shells and bombs, on Israel's own count), then ground attacks at the museum, the port and Bir Hassan, which were halted.
Other dates in the books: Monday, 2 August 1982, Wednesday, 4 August 1982
\_this day in full \_on this day
Monday, 2 August 1982
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israel launches a major offensive against West Beirut.
By Israel's own figure, the opening 48 hours of non-stop bombardment came to 280,000 shells and bombs. Palestinian fighters and their allies then held its columns at the Museum, the port and Bir Hassan.
Sources differ: Original event 585 is dated 1 August; Fisk describes the peak of the bombardment on 4 August.
\_this day in full \_on this day
Wednesday, 25 August 1982
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
US Marines land in Beirut, their first landing there since 1958.
The 32nd Marine Amphibious Unit, some 800 strong, began landing at Beirut port soon after dawn, and within hours its men were guarding PLO fighters as they boarded ships for Tartus in Syria. For the cameras, a Marine officer shook hands with a Palestine Liberation Army officer.
Sources differ: Ménargues places the Marine landing on 27 August.
Other date in the books: Friday, 27 August 1982
\_this day in full \_on this day
Sunday, 29 August 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Lebanese Army deployed in the central district in Beirut while the soldiers of the Arab Strike Force still positioned in Beirut, were being evacuated.
Other dates in the books: Saturday, 21 August 1982, Monday, 30 August 1982
\_this day in full \_on this day
September 1982
Wednesday, 1 September 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The last Palestinian fighters left Lebanon. In 12 days, 10,876 Fedayin and 2,700 Syrian soldiers had left the Lebanese territory.
What the books addCounts of those evacuated between 21 August and 1 September differ: 14,398 Palestinians and Syrians, including 664 women and children of PLO cadres (de Clerck and Malsagne); 14,938 Palestinians by 30 August (Ménargues); about 15,000 by sea plus 6,500 Syrian and PLA soldiers by land (Hanf). On 1 September President Reagan announced his peace plan.
Art and memory- book Abou Zaki shows how Lebanon's Palestinians, among the war's chief losers, are blamed as its chief culprits. In 2008 the Palestinian Authority formally apologised to the Lebanese state for wrongs done, notably in 1975-1982.
Other dates in the books: Saturday, 21 August 1982, Monday, 30 August 1982
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
President-elect Bashir Gemayel meets Menachem Begin in northern Israel.
Facing Begin, with Sharon and Shamir beside him, Bashir asked for six to nine months to consolidate his power before any early peace treaty; Traboulsi says he left humiliated. The meeting leaked within days; he denied it.
Sources differ: Place: Nahariya (Ménargues) or Natania (Traboulsi); leak reported on 2 September (Traboulsi) or 3 September (Ménargues).
\_this day in full \_on this day
March 1983
Tuesday, 1 March 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Lebanese Forces agree to place East Beirut and the port's fifth basin under state control.
Given guarantees by President Gemayel, the Lebanese Forces returned control of East Beirut to the state, along with the port's fifth basin, which had brought in about a fifth of their income.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne give 1 March 1983 here but 'spring 1983' elsewhere (p. 351); original entry 654 dates the state's recovery of the fifth basin to 7 March.
\_this day in full \_on this day
November 1983
Wednesday, 30 November 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
President Gemayel met with the American President at the White House.
What the books addHanf writes that in Washington on 1 December the Americans pressed Gemayel to come to terms with the Druze and Shi'is and ruled out any change to the 17 May agreement.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 1 December 1983
\_this day in full \_on this day
January 1984
Monday, 2 January 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The year started like the previous one ended : everyone was talking about a new security plan for the mountain and the Southern suburbs of Beirut. Nevertheless, the fights continued intermittently in these regions between the Army and the Lebanese Forces on one side and the Progressive Socialist Party and Amal on the other.
What the books addOn 29 January the Druze resumed attacking the army at Souk al-Gharb, after Shi'i militia sniping at the army and French troops from mid-January, Hanf's next escalation.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 29 January 1984
\_this day in full \_on this day
February 1984
Thursday, 2 February 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The schools closed their doors in the Eastern sector of the capital due to the blind shelling of Beirut and its suburbs.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 1 February 1984
\_this day in full \_on this day
Wednesday, 29 February 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
President Amine Gemayel visited Damascus. The observers expected a normalization soon after. Indeed, the Syrian President approved the opening of new round Israeli-Lebanese negotiations.
What the books addMénargues gives two different days for this visit: 24 February in his prologue and 26 February in another passage. Hanf and Fisk both give 29 February. Fisk notes a 21-gun salute; Hanf says Gemayel told Assad he was ready to abrogate the 17 May agreement.
Other dates in the books: Friday, 24 February 1984, Sunday, 26 February 1984
\_this day in full \_on this day
March 1984
Sunday, 25 March 1984
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
It was the French contingent's turn to leave Beirut while the Eastern regions remained the target of blind and murderous bombardments.
What the books addHanf and de Clerck and Malsagne date the departure of the last French MNF soldiers to 31 March 1984; 25 March may mark the start of the French withdrawal, which the books do not mention. France left soldiers in Beirut as ceasefire observers.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 31 March 1984
\_this day in full \_on this day
March 1985
Monday, 25 March 1985
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
British writer Alec Collett is kidnapped at Khalde.
Alec Collett, 64, a British freelance writing on Palestinian refugees for the UN, was never freed. Gunmen took him a hundred yards from Amal's Khalde checkpoint; the 'Revolutionary Organisation of Socialist Muslims' claimed it.
Other date in the books: Friday, 22 March 1985
\_this day in full \_on this day
April 1985
Monday, 1 April 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The region of Saida was heavily bombarded. Artillery duels opposed the Lebanese Forces on the one hand, to local antigovernment militias and army units that don't follow the commandment of Yarzeh on the other.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 24 April 1985
\_this day in full \_on this day
August 1985
Friday, 30 August 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Lebanese Forces ended their military presence in Zahleh and closed their offices in the town.
What the books addHanf dates the Lebanese Forces' withdrawal to 31 August, after Shia militias had shelled Zahleh from 11 August and Christian notables mediated; Syrian troops entered on 7 September.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 11 August 1985
\_this day in full \_on this day
September 1985
Monday, 30 September 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Three diplomats from the Soviet embassy and the chancellery's doctor were kidnapped in West Beirut. One of them was killed later, while the three others were released on October 30. Twelve Western nationals remained held hostages by Islamist organizations.
What the books addFisk dates it 1 October 1985, de Clerck and Malsagne September. Arkady Katkov was killed. Fisk thinks Sunni fundamentalists wanted Moscow to make Syria halt its Tripoli offensive against Tawheed. The others' release is credited probably to the KGB and Syria by de Clerck and Malsagne, to Syrian mediation by Hanf.
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 1 October 1985
\_this day in full \_on this day
September 1986
Thursday, 25 September 1986
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The UNIFL Blue Helmets repositioned themselves; they occupied three out of the 32 positions they were initially occupying.
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 23 September 1986
\_this day in full \_on this day
October 1986
Saturday, 25 October 1986
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Camps War opposing Amal to the Palestinians spread to Saida.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne begin the third camps war in late September 1986 with fighting around Rashidiyeh near Tyre; Hanf dates Amal's siege of Rashidieh to October.
Other date in the books: Monday, 24 November 1986
\_this day in full \_on this day
November 1986
Tuesday, 25 November 1986
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The armed conflict between Amal and the Palestinians spread to Maghdoucheh. Ferocious combats took place in this Christian strategic town. Ultimately, it fell partially in the hands of Palestinians and its residents were forced to flee from their homes.
What the books addHanf: the PLO took Maghdousheh on 24 November, lost it to Amal on the 25th and retook it on the 26th. De Clerck and Malsagne say the aim was to forestall an attack on Ain el-Helweh; Amal answered by besieging the southern camps and pressing the Beirut ones harder.
Other date in the books: Monday, 24 November 1986
\_this day in full \_on this day
April 1988
Saturday, 30 April 1988
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The body of Bishop Albert Khoreiche was discovered in the forest of Chnaiir, provoking consternation in every milieu. He had disappeared eight days earlier in mysterious conditions.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne (p. 420) identify the victim as head of the Maronite religious court and nephew of the former Patriarch Khoreiche. His body was discovered in a Ghazir forest on 1 May 1988, and the killing was attributed to the Lebanese Forces.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 1 May 1988
\_this day in full \_on this day
November 1988
Friday, 25 November 1988
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
West Beirut was the stage of a fresh outbreak of combats between Amal militiamen and the Hezbollah, despite the Syrian army presence.
What the books addPicard dates this round to 28 November 1988, Hanf to early December.
Other date in the books: Monday, 28 November 1988
\_this day in full \_on this day
January 1989
Monday, 30 January 1989
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Following negotiations conducted in Damascus, the pro-Syrian Amal movement and the pro-Iranian Hezbollah sign an agreement putting an end to their armed conflict that cost the life of 400 persons in 10 months.
What the books addThe dates differ: Hanf says Amal and Hezbollah suspended their war on 25 January, and also writes that the Syrian-Iranian ceasefire took until the spring. De Clerck and Malsagne date the ceasefire to February 1989. Picard names Syria and Iran as sponsors. Death tolls depend on the source and the period: some sources put civilian deaths at about 2,000 for 1988-1990 (de Clerck and Malsagne); an al-Nahar-based count gives 635 dead across 147 incidents between 1985 and 1991; Georges Corm estimated 2,000 dead for 1988-1989.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 25 January 1989
\_this day in full \_on this day
May 1989
Tuesday, 2 May 1989
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Aoun recasts his 'war of liberation' as a diplomatic campaign; Syrian shelling starts again.
Within a week Syrian shelling of the enclave was back at full intensity; Hanf says Syria and its allies kept the Arab League ceasefire only a few days. Aoun, having accepted it, recast his war as a diplomatic struggle.
Sources differ: Hanf gives 2 May both for Aoun's statement and for the renewed shelling; the shelling date may be a misprint.
\_this day in full \_on this day
October 1989
Sunday, 1 October 1989
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Lebanese deputies begin their Taif conclave, opened by Saudi Arabia's foreign minister.
Former speaker Husseini chaired the session, which Prince Saud al-Faisal opened by insisting that it must not fail. Hanf puts attendance at 62 deputies, split evenly between Christians and Muslims, some living in Lebanon and others in exile in France, Switzerland or Iraq; de Clerck and Malsagne give 63.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne date the meeting to 30 September with 63 deputies; Hanf dates the opening to 1 October with 62. The original entry 1155 has 30 September.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 30 September 1989
\_this day in full \_on this day
November 1989
Saturday, 25 November 1989
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
President René Moawad is buried in Zghorta.
At the Zghorta funeral, Fisk writes, nobody knew whether the coffin, carried on a gun-carriage from the family church's crypt, held Moawad or one of his bodyguards. Assad and his generals sent wreaths.
Sources differ: Original entry 1167 says Hrawi was elected 'on the eve of the national funerals', which fits this date.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 22 November 1989
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Crowds ring Baabda palace as President Hrawi fires Aoun and sets a 48-hour deadline to leave.
The deadline lapsed with nothing done. Hrawi had warned those lacking legitimacy could be handled 'in a few hours', yet within hours tens of thousands, many young, were camped round Baabda palace for a weeks-long sit-in.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne say Aoun held the command until 27 November (p. 281). Original entry 1169 dates the gathering at Baabda to 28 November.
\_this day in full \_on this day
June 1990
August 1991
Thursday, 29 August 1991
After the war · From the books
General Aoun is spirited out of the French embassy into exile in France.
Aoun, sheltering in the French embassy since 13 October 1990, was removed ten months later in the secret 'Hortensia' operation, run by General Philippe Rondot with French gendarmes and RAID police. He remained in exile until 2005.
Sources differ: Quéméner's calendar places the exfiltration under 1990.
\_this day in full \_on this day
February 1992
Saturday, 29 February 1992
After the war · From the books
The Central Bank gives up defending the pound.
By early May a dollar cost 2,000 pounds; the bank had given up on the pound after losing a third of its foreign reserves.
Sources differ: Peak rate: 2,000 (Hanf, early May) or 2,200 (Picard, 1992).
\_this day in full \_on this day
July 1993
Sunday, 25 July 1993
After the war · From the books range
Israel's 'Operation Accountability' bombards southern Lebanon for a week.
Israel's week-long ground and air offensive on Hezbollah positions killed about 130 Lebanese and no Israelis. It damaged the power grid and sent nearly 300,000 fleeing north. The Lebanese army then deployed there.
Sources differ: Deaths: 130 (Picard) or 129 (Fisk).
\_this day in full \_on this day
July 2000
Sunday, 30 July 2000
After the war · From the books
Lahoud says the army's role in the south will be defined 'in due course'.
Lahoud's Army Day speech left the army's role undefined, so no national strategy emerged; the government called Hezbollah's continuing fight a 'national struggle'.
Sources differ: 30 July (Picard 2002) or 29 July (Picard 2016).
Other date in the books: Saturday, 29 July 2000
\_this day in full \_on this day
October 2004
Friday, 1 October 2004
After the war · From the books
Marwan Hamadeh survives a car bomb.
The car bomb that wounded Marwan Hamadeh, a Jumblatt adviser who had resigned from the cabinet, opened a series of attacks on opponents of Syria (Picard); the Special Tribunal for Lebanon later took on his case as legally linked to Hariri's. Kofi Annan's report on Resolution 1559 came out that day.
Sources differ: Picard (2016) places the attack 'a few days' after 3 September; the others give 1 October.
\_this day in full \_on this day
December 2004
Wednesday, 1 December 2004
After the war · From the books
Thousands demonstrate in Beirut for the Syrian presence and against 1559.
Sources differ: The book chronology extracted to JSON reads this as 'December' only; the PDF shows 1 December.
\_this day in full \_on this day
May 2005
Sunday, 29 May 2005
Since 2005 · From the books range
Parliamentary elections over several weeks give the anti-Syrian coalition a majority.
Saad Hariri's anti-Syrian coalition won 72 of 128 seats and Michel Aoun's movement much of Mount Lebanon; with each region returning its own local leaders, the vote showed a country more divided by sect than ever.
Sources differ: The two chapters of the same book disagree on when voting ended: 12 June in Abirached's chronology, 19 June in Khayat's chapter. Picard dates the elections simply to May 2005.
\_this day in full \_on this day
June 2005
Thursday, 2 June 2005
Since 2005 · From the books
Journalist and historian Samir Kassir is killed by a car bomb.
Samir Kassir, academic, columnist and a leading voice against Syrian control, died when a bomb went off in his car. Haugbolle treats the killing as the moment post-Syrian Lebanon's disarray grew plain.
Sources differ: 2 June in four sources (de Clerck & Malsagne, Abirached, Quéméner, Khayat) against 1 June in Haugbolle. 2 June has the most support.
Art and memory- book De Clerck and Malsagne call Samir Kassir's 1994 study, which ends in 1982, a reference work; Kassir himself noted that no academic research yet covered the conflict in its full complexity.
\_this day in full \_on this day
Thursday, 30 June 2005
Since 2005 · From the books
Fouad Siniora is chosen as Prime Minister.
A parliament dominated by the 14 March parties chose Fouad Siniora, Rafic Hariri's trusted associate, as prime minister. Israel had retaliated, on a limited scale, for a major Hezbollah attack in the Shebaa Farms launched a few hours before the nomination.
Sources differ: Abirached's chronology has Siniora forming the government on 30 June; Khayat says only that he was designated at the end of June. For the government itself, de Clerck & Malsagne (Confluences) give 19 July (see the following entry).
\_this day in full \_on this day
September 2005
Thursday, 1 September 2005
Since 2005 · From the books
Four security chiefs are arrested in the Hariri investigation.
Mustafa Hamdan of the Presidential Guard and the three men who had headed the security services when Hariri was killed were arrested at the instance of the UN commission, aided by the Lebanese judiciary. Picard records that the four were held without evidence until April 2009.
Sources differ: 1 September (Abirached) against end of August (Khayat; Picard gives August). Two sources favour late August.
\_this day in full \_on this day
dates 1–60 of 65 next
