188 entries on 167 dates · the books disagree on 39
dates 1–60 of 167 next
December 1968
Saturday, 28 December 1968
The road to war · From the books
Israeli commandos destroy Lebanon's civil airliners at Beirut airport.
In retaliation for a Palestinian attack on an El Al airliner at Athens, Israeli commandos landed by helicopter at Beirut International Airport and destroyed thirteen or fourteen Lebanese passenger planes on the ground, most of them belonging to Middle East Airlines. The army failed to respond. Abroad the raid was widely condemned; at home it fed anger at the state and sympathy for the Palestinians.
Sources differ: Number of aircraft: 13 (Traboulsi, Hanf, Picard, Fisk) or 14 belonging to three Lebanese companies, 8 of them MEA (de Clerck & Malsagne). Traboulsi and Hanf speak of MEA planes only; Fisk and de Clerck & Malsagne of MEA and other companies. Picard says the Israeli air force blew up the planes; Hanf, Fisk and de Clerck & Malsagne describe a heliborne or landed commando. Picard places the Athens attack 'two months earlier'; Hanf and de Clerck & Malsagne date it 26 December 1968. Traboulsi and Hanf call it a hijacking, de Clerck & Malsagne and Fisk an attack.
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August 1973
Tuesday, 28 August 1973
The road to war · From the books
The labour confederation holds a general strike.
The government met the CGTL general strike with a decreed 5 per cent rise, higher minimum wage and family allowances, and curbs on sacking unionists. Strikers also wanted commercial profits capped and cooperatives aided: for Traboulsi, the unions' first challenge to the commercial oligarchy.
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March 1975
Wednesday, 19 March 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Imam Moussa Sadr remained the spiritual leader of the Shiite community until he was 65 years old.
The Imam was 48 years old. His mandate was extended unanimously by the General assembly of the Superior Shiite Council.
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April 1975
Sunday, 13 April 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A serious incident opposed the Phalange (Kataeb) Party to the Resistance in Ain El Remmaneh causing 31 deaths.
These people were on board of a bus bringing back from Tell El Zaatar members of Palestinian Organizations who had just participated in a Resistance meeting. Because of the incident, tension rose in the Palestinian camp and in many surrounding towns. Authorities and mediators were trying to calm the waters and ask the Phalange Party leader, Pierre Gemayel, to hand over those responsible of the incident to the Lebanese Justice.
What the books addThe day began with shootings near the church in Ain al-Rummaneh, where Pierre Gemayel was attending a consecration; his bodyguard Joseph Bou Assi was killed. In the early afternoon Kataeb militiamen fired on a bus returning to Tal al-Za'tar from a rally of the Arab Liberation Front. Most historians count 27 dead (Hanf, Fisk, de Clerck and Malsagne: 27 of 35 passengers); Traboulsi gives 21 and Ménargues 31. According to de Clerck and Malsagne the bus carried Palestinians and Lebanese in equal numbers, all men. Fighting spread that evening across the suburbs of Beirut.
Art and memory- film In Ziad Doueiri's West Beyrouth (1998), the teenager Tarek witnesses the Ain al-Rummaneh bus attack, and the next day his family is stopped at a roadblock and asked for identity cards.
- artwork A copy of the Dodge bus attacked in 1975 stood on a street in central Beirut in April 2003, for the 28th anniversary, as the installation '13th of April'.
- book De Clerck and Malsagne take the morning incidents, the bus passengers and the finding that no Kataeb leader ordered the attack from Marwan Chahine's pioneering investigation, Beyrouth, 13 avril 1975. Autopsie d'une étincelle (Belfond, 2024).
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May 1975
Wednesday, 28 May 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Rashid Karami is named Prime Minister.
On 28 May, after the military cabinet fell, Frangieh named Rashid Karami Prime Minister. Forming a government took him a month, since most Christian politicians would not sit without the Kataeb and Jumblatt vetoed the party.
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June 1975
Saturday, 28 June 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Musa al-Sadr begins a hunger strike against the fighting.
Protesting at the fighting in Chiyah, Imam Musa al-Sadr went on hunger strike, pledging to fast until the violence stopped. Christian and Sunni clergy and Palestinians backed him. Traboulsi says he fasted at the Amiliya school until a national unity government was formed.
Sources differ: Traboulsi's wording places the strike about a month before 6 June; de Clerck and Malsagne and Hanf place it in late June, which fits the formation of the Karami cabinet at the end of June.
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September 1975
Saturday, 13 September 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Deir Achache in Akkar falls; three priests are killed.
Three priests were shot and the inhabitants expelled when Saiqa and fedayeen fighters seized Deir Achache, a Christian village in Akkar.
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Friday, 19 September 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Beirut was the theater of numerous troubles - street fights, plastic bomb attacks, and fires were reported. The downtown, the heart of the old Beirut, was in fire too, and the heart of the Lebanese full of fear. At night, a cease-fire was announced.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne date the start of fighting in central Beirut to the night of 17-18 September 1975; Hanf and Traboulsi hold the Kataeb responsible for shelling the old souks. A cease-fire and the setting-up of the National Dialogue Committee followed.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 17 September 1975
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November 1975
Wednesday, 19 November 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books range
French envoy Maurice Couve de Murville begins a mediation mission.
Giscard d'Estaing's envoy Maurice Couve de Murville was in Beirut on 19-30 November, then Damascus until 2 December. Paris did not call it a mediation (Picard: a fact-finding mission); de Clerck and Malsagne find it made no headway.
Sources differ: Picard calls the mission successful; de Clerck and Malsagne say it achieved nothing notable.
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January 1976
Tuesday, 13 January 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Damour is completely encircled and heavily shelled.
With Damour now fully surrounded, its besiegers shelled the town heavily.
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April 1976
Wednesday, 28 April 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Rabin gives a written green light to a Syrian intervention.
Rabin approved a Syrian intervention in Lebanon in a written message that Israel's ambassador, Gideon Rafael, gave King Hussein in London; Hussein had relayed Syria's assurances to Rafael on 11 April.
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July 1976
Tuesday, 13 July 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
William Hawi, commnander of the Kataeb military forces was shot and killed by a sniper whilst he was inspecting his forces on the edge of the Tel el Zaatar camp.
What the books addMénargues has William Hawi shot by a Palestinian sniper in June 1976, at the end of the Tal al-Za'tar siege; Traboulsi places it during the siege. Bashir Gemayel succeeded him as Kataeb militia chief.
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September 1976
Tuesday, 28 September 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Syrian forces and the Lebanese Forces launched an attack against the positions of the Palestinian Progressive forces in the mountain. This far-reaching attack aimed at dislodging the Common Forces from the crests they occupied in Sannine, Zaarour, Aintoura and Mtein. This assault was accompanied by an intensive bombing of Aley, the main Palestinian Progressive base in the mountain.
What the books addFrom Sarkis's inauguration on 23 September Hanf counts three quiet days, the Semiramis Hotel attack in Damascus and a Syrian move two days after it, placing this offensive at about 28 September. The Palestinian and leftist forces lost the Upper Metn; Traboulsi notes that the Joint Forces' largest concentration, there under Abu Khalid al-Amleh, never engaged the advancing Syrians.
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October 1976
Wednesday, 13 October 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syrian forces take Bhamdoun.
Renewing their drive on Sidon, Syrian forces also took Bhamdoun on 13 October against stiff Palestinian resistance. The losses, with Saudi pressure, led Damascus to accept the Riyadh summit two days later.
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Thursday, 28 October 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Fourteen Christians are killed at Ma'asir Beiteddine in the Chouf.
Gunmen with automatic weapons executed 14 Christians, eight from one family, at Ma'asir Beiteddine in the Chouf. The PSP often justified such killings as 'purification' of 'isolationists'.
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November 1976
February 1977
Monday, 28 February 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A master plan for the souks of the old Beirut was submitted to the Council of Ministers. This project included the creation of a green front, an opening to the sea from the Saint George to Bahri, the construction of a port district around the first basin, the opening of avenues towards the sea, and the reconstruction of the souks.
What the books addAPUR, the Atelier parisien d'urbanisme, drew up this 1977 plan, the earliest of three reconstruction studies made during the war.
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March 1977
Saturday, 19 March 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
An airplane was hijacked between Turkey and Lebanon.
The operation began 50 minutes after a Boeing 727 on the Diarbakin-Ankara route took off with 182 passengers aboard and 6 crewmembers. Two hijackers forced the airplane to head towards Beirut where it landed at 4pm. The Lebanese authorities took charge of the situation and began negotiations with the hijackers. Ultimately, the passengers were released and the police arrested the hijackers.
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Monday, 28 March 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Council of Ministers appointed Colonel Victor Khoury at the head of the army replacing General Hanna Said.
What the books addMuslim leaders accused Hanna Saïd, commander since September 1975, of leniency towards the Lebanese Front (Traboulsi: of closeness to the dissident troops in the south). His replacement, Victor Khoury, a Constitutional Bloc sympathiser committed to Christian-Muslim coexistence, ran the army and its rebuilding from March 1977 to December 1982.
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May 1977
Friday, 13 May 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
An Antonov-12 air freighter belonging to the Polish company LOT crashed in the forest of Aramoun. The airplane that was returning from Warsaw carried a shipment of meat and seven crewmembers who perished in the accident.
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June 1977
July 1977
September 1977
October 1977
Wednesday, 19 October 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A sensational hold up took place in the Kantari sector. Gangsters attacked a customs wagon and seized a 2 810 000 LP booty.
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
In order to deal with the economic recession caused by the two-year crisis and the unbearable increase of the cost of living, the government decided to help both employers and salaried. He raised the minimum wage to 415 LP and granted facilities to the employers.
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November 1977
Saturday, 19 November 1977
The Lebanese war · Added from the books range
Sadat's visit to Jerusalem overturns alliances in Lebanon (context).
Sadat was in Jerusalem from 19 to 21 November and spoke to the Knesset; he had said on 9 November that he was willing to go. Historians see the Lebanese camps realigning from then on: Syria, left isolated, moved towards the PLO, whose fighters resumed operations from the south, and the Lebanese Front looked to Israel. Hanf concludes that Egypt's peace made war in Lebanon inevitable.
Sources differ: Traboulsi gives 19-21 November; Hanf gives the arrival on 19 November.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 9 November 1977
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March 1978
Sunday, 19 March 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Security council adopted the 425 Resolution which stipulated the expedition of 4,000 blue helmets to confirm the withdrawal of the Israeli forces. They had also to assist the Lebanese government in the restoration of its authority in the region.
What the books addResolution 425 was adopted with Resolution 426, which set up the force; the USSR abstained (de Clerck and Malsagne). UNIFIL later numbered about 6,000 soldiers, with France providing the largest first contingent (1,290 men).
Other date in the books: Saturday, 18 March 1978
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April 1978
Wednesday, 19 April 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Hoss government, formed in December of 1976, resigned. El Hoss himself was soon asked, on April 28, to form the new government.
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Haddad's militia attacks UNIFIL headquarters at Naqoura.
Eight UN soldiers, six Irish and two Dutch, were wounded when mortar, RPG and heavy machine-gun fire hit UNIFIL's Naqoura headquarters, inside Haddad's enclave, at midnight. Israel ordered Haddad to end the siege only once the UN asked it.
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June 1978
Tuesday, 13 June 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A dramatic event was reported in Zghorta. A chock commando killed Tony Frangieh, deputy and son of the President Sleiman Frangieh, his wife Vera and their daughter Jihane, at their home in Ehden. The murder of Tony Frangieh took place while the conflict between the Phalange Party and the Zghortiotes was at its peak.
What the books addHistorians date the Ehden killings to 13 June (de Clerck and Malsagne) or 14 June (Hanf). A unit of some 200 men (Traboulsi) led by Samir Geagea attacked the Frangieh residence; besides Tony Frangieh, his wife and their three-year-old daughter, about thirty relatives and supporters were killed. The Phalange presented the raid as retaliation for the killing of their local leader Jud al-Bayeh in early June; Bashir Gemayel denied ordering the killing of the family. The raid also turned on control of the Chekka cement works. Syrian troops then occupied Ehden and much of the north.
Art and memory- book De Clerck and Malsagne refer to a 2016 article by Dan Naor on how the Frangieh family made Ehden a resistance myth.
- testimony Women mourners keened at Tony Frangieh's funeral in 1978 until his father, the former president, stepped in to quiet them.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 14 June 1978
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israel completes its withdrawal but hands the border strip to Major Haddad.
UNIFIL was kept out of a border belt 5 to 10 km deep that stayed in the hands of Major Saad Haddad's militia when Israeli troops officially left South Lebanon.
Sources differ: Hanf gives 12 June; Picard says July.
Other date in the books: Monday, 12 June 1978
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Wednesday, 28 June 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A massacre of a unique atrocity was perpetrated in the North of the Bekaa region.
Forty persons from the Christian town of Kaa and its surroundings were kidnapped from their homes at night. 26 were executed at dawn, and their bodies were left in a mass grave. The Lebanese population and especially the Greek Catholic community, to which the victims belonged, were terrorized and distressed.
What the books addThe Qaa massacre is dated to the night of 27-28 June (de Clerck and Malsagne) or to 29 June (Hanf); Ras Baalbek and Jdeidet al-Fakiha were also raided. De Clerck and Malsagne blame Syrians in civilian clothes, carrying name lists and guided by local Christian members of the SSNP and the Communist Party, and see the killings as revenge for Ehden. Hanf counts 26 dead, de Clerck and Malsagne 32 to 36. The community's Supreme Council asked that a day of national mourning be held.
Other dates in the books: Tuesday, 27 June 1978, Thursday, 29 June 1978
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July 1978
August 1978
September 1978
Tuesday, 19 September 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
In Lebanon strikes multiplied.
In East Beirut, a strike was organized to protest against the presence of the 'Green Helmets', while in West Beirut protests were against the mysterious disappearance of Imama Moussa Sadr. Christian leaders did not want to renew the Arab Strike Force's mandate unless it was done under new conditions.
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Thursday, 28 September 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
It is the famous ' Black Thursday ' where hundreds of shells hit Achrafieh in a murderous frenzy that did not spare anyone. The Arab Strike Force and the Lebanese Front accused each other of being responsible of this nightmare, while women, children and elderly persons were dying.
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January 1979
Friday, 19 January 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Israeli army launched a triple air, ground and sea operation against Arnoun, Aichieh and the costal region. These events caused 16 dead, 12 injured and 25 prisoners.
Concurrently, the Security Council renewed the UNIFL mandate until Beirut elaborated a program re-establishing its authority in Southern Lebanon.
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February 1979
Wednesday, 28 February 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Saudi troops decided to withdraw from the Arabic Strike Force. The Lebanese tried to dissuade them.
What the books addThe Saudis announced their departure in March 1979 (Ménargues). Picard has Syria's partners, among them Saudis, Sudanese and Emiratis, leaving two years after the 1976 summits; de Clerck and Malsagne call the ADF wholly Syrian from 1979.
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March 1979
Tuesday, 13 March 1979
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Parliament adopts a law to rebuild the army and send it south.
The new defence law set up a Higher Defence Council and a Military Council, allocated military posts by sect among the six main communities, allowed the army to be used only with national consensus, and planned its deployment to the UNIFIL area in the south.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne give 13 March 1979 in their text and 13 May in their chronology, where the entry sits between February and March, so 13 May is probably a slip. Picard gives March 1979.
Other dates in the books: Wednesday, 18 April 1979, Sunday, 13 May 1979
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May 1979
Sunday, 13 May 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Amine Gemayel, deputy of the Northern Metn and member of the Phalange Party's political bureau, escaped from an assassination attempt that nearly cost him his two children's life. A plastic explosive (20 kg of TNT) tied to a 122 mm bomb placed in a trunk of a tree, exploded at the time Amine Gemayel's car went by. He was injured in the face. This incident caused a general strike in the Eastern regions.
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June 1979
August 1979
October 1979
Sunday, 28 October 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Israel stiffened its position.
While Hoss discussed with Abou Ayad a Lebanese Palestinian understanding platform, Israel laid two conditions for peace: the withdrawal of Syrian forces from Lebanon and the end of Palestinian raids, according to what Menahem Begin affirmed to the American delegate, Philip Habib in Jerusalem.
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December 1979
Wednesday, 19 December 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
An ongoing manifestation in Tripoli went out of control. The demonstrators protesting against the increase of the cost of living, vandalized Tripoli's seraglio and molested the Mohafez of Northern Lebanon. The administrations and public services clerks in Tripoli decided to stop working for 3 days.
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February 1980
March 1980
Thursday, 13 March 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Fights opposed Amal to the Fateh, killing seven persons in the Ouzaï-Aramoun region. Leaders of the National Movement started to mediate between the two parties to end the dispute.
What the books addHanf: early in 1980 Amal fought the Iraqi-backed Arab Liberation Front in Beirut's suburbs while Fatah tried to mediate, as relations between Shi'is and Palestinians grew worse; the fighting later reached the south.
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May 1980
June 1980
Thursday, 19 June 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The first official exams since the beginning of the war were held as usual.
We are far from the excessive cheating reported last year. However, the Minister of National Education had to cancel the Baccalaureate exams in South Lebanon because of the chaotic atmosphere that was prevailing.
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July 1980
August 1980
Wednesday, 13 August 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
President Sarkis rejected, in front of Gaston Thor, the President of the Council of Ministers of the EEC, the settlement of the Palestinians in Lebanon as part of the global settlement of the Middle East problem.
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Tuesday, 19 August 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
An Israeli raid targeted the region of Arnoun.
Violent confrontations opposed Palestinian Progressive 'common forces' and 60 Israeli soldiers backed by helicopters. The 'common forces' reported 25 dead and 30 injured, while Israelis reported 20 victims. The next day, a double Israeli raid targeted Nabatyeh.
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October 1980
Monday, 13 October 1980
The Lebanese war · Added from the books day (visit 13-15 October)
A Lebanese Forces delegation in Israel sets out its plan to take power.
Following a visit by a Lebanese Forces military delegation, five LF political figures, Joseph Abou Khalil, Zahi Boustani, Selim Jahel, Antoine Najm and Assaad Chaftari, left Kaslik by boat on 13 October and landed in Haifa that evening. Over two days they briefed the head of the Mossad's Lebanon desk, Mossad director Yitzhak Hofi and Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir on their plans. Shamir told them not to provoke Syria, to build up their strength and to repair their image in Washington.
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November 1980
Friday, 28 November 1980
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Secret Christian–Druze talks begin.
Late that afternoon the talks met at Johnny Abdo's home, while Lebanese Forces units were taking Elias Hannouche's last stronghold in Ain el-Remmaneh. Joseph Abou Khalil, Zahi Boustani and Antoine Najm spoke for the LF and Samir Frangieh for Walid Jumblatt; no Druze attended. On Frangieh's proposal they would first prepare a paper for a Gemayel–Jumblatt meeting covering Lebanon's ties with the Arab world and Israel and the legal form of a new regime.
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January 1981
Wednesday, 28 January 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
President Elias Sarkis delivered a speech at the Third Islamic States Summit in Taef, where he headed the Lebanese delegation. He declared: 'Lebanon cannot bear anymore the Palestinian armed presence on its land'.
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February 1981
Friday, 13 February 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The kidnapping on February 6 in Beirut of the chargé d'affaires of Jordan in Lebanon, remained at the center of preoccupation of the country's leaders. They adopted a series of security measures for the protection of embassies.
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A Syrian-Israeli air duel took place in the sky of the Bekaa region.
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dates 1–60 of 167 next
