217 entries on 197 dates · the books disagree on 55
dates 1–60 of 197 next
November 1969
Monday, 3 November 1969
The road to war · From the books
The Cairo Agreement is signed between the Lebanese army and the PLO.
Only Raymond Eddé and his bloc voted against the agreement, which deputies ratified without seeing its full, secret text. Concluded in Cairo through Egyptian mediation by Yasir Arafat and army commander General Emile Bustani, it affirmed Lebanese sovereignty but let guerrillas keep armed units in the camps and observation posts near the border and move to and from the Arqoub.
Sources differ: Three dates: 3 November (de Clerck & Malsagne, Traboulsi's chronology; Hanf's negotiation of 1-3 November ends that day), 8 November (Traboulsi's chapter 9) and 13 November (Picard). 3 November has the most, and mutually independent, support; Traboulsi contradicts himself.
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November 1972
Friday, 3 November 1972
The road to war · From the books
Workers at the Ghandour factories begin an open-ended strike.
On 3 November 1972 an indefinite strike began at the Ghandour confectionery group, Lebanon's largest non-unionised industrial workforce. Workers wanted their factory committee recognised, the right to unionise, equal wages for women and higher pay.
Sources differ: Workforce: 1,200 in Shiyah (Traboulsi) or about 1,250 in Choueifat plus 350 in Chiyah (Tufaro).
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May 1973
Thursday, 3 May 1973
The road to war · From the books day (disputed)
The Lebanese air force bombs Palestinian camps in Beirut.
The Lebanese air force was used against the camps: Hanf writes that it bombed Burj al-Barajneh in response to rockets launched at the airport from inside the camp.
Sources differ: 3 May and Burj al-Barajneh (Traboulsi) against 2 May and the Sabra-Shatila area (de Clerck & Malsagne); Hanf gives Burj al-Barajneh without a day. They may be separate raids.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 2 May 1973
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May 1974
Friday, 31 May 1974
The road to war · From the books
Syria and Israel sign the Golan disengagement agreement.
When the Golan disengagement took effect, UN troops stood between the Syrian and Israeli armies. Hanf concludes that Lebanon's border was now the only front open to Palestinian armed action, and that Lebanon, main arena of the conflict since 1970, bore it alone.
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January 1975
Friday, 3 January 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
South Lebanon was bombarded
Israeli bombing made the inhabitants of South Lebanon go through dramatic moments. Six persons were killed, five were wounded, six villagers were kidnapped, and 13 houses were destroyed. The army and the Fedayin fought with the enemy. Twice, the Lebanese repelled incursion attempts.
What the books addJanuary 1975 saw heavy Israeli attacks on the South. Israeli forces razed Kfar Chouba, a border village, about a week after 7 January (Hanf), and Palestinian commandos shelled army positions in Tyre during border clashes with the Lebanese army (de Clerck and Malsagne). The figures for 3 January come from contemporary press reports.
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Tuesday, 7 January 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Teachers went on strike
25,000 private school teachers went on an open strike. The movement hit approximately 200,000 students. Strikers were claiming the amendment of their salary scale and of the teachers' dismissal law. Their actual minimum salary amounted for 250 Lebanese pounds.
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Presidents Assad and Frangieh meet at Chtaura.
At Chtaura, President Suleiman Frangieh received Syria's president, Hafez al-Assad, who pledged to defend Lebanon against Israeli attack. Hanf, quoting Goria, judges that Lebanon thereby lost what neutrality had gained it.
Sources differ: Ménargues gives 17 January 1975. Traboulsi's narrative chapter dates the summit to 7 January 1974, while his own chronology gives 7 January 1975. Two sources agree on 7 January 1975.
Other dates in the books: Monday, 7 January 1974, Friday, 17 January 1975
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February 1975
Monday, 3 February 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
After a debate that lasted 15 days, the conclave chose unanimously a neutralist candidate. Mgr Antonios Khoreiche was the new Patriarch of Antioch and the Middle East.
What the books addAntoine Khuraych headed the Maronite Church from his election on 3 February 1975 (enthronement 9 February) until 1986, styling himself the 'patriarch of dialogue'.
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March 1975
Friday, 7 March 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Major events were reported in the town of Saida.
The army clashed with demonstrators protesting in favor of fishermen. Maarouf Saad, former legislator, was hit by a bullet and died from his wounds. Saida was in fire and blood. Many dead and wounded persons were reported, on the civilian as well as on the military sides. Businesses and schools shut down. Many leaders accused the Prime Minister, Rachid El Solh, of being responsible for the recent events in Saida. Nevertheless, demonstrations supporting the army were organized in Beirut.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne and Traboulsi date the Sidon fishermen's protest to 26 February 1975. The marchers opposed Protein, a fishing company whose board included Camille Chamoun; their leader, Maarouf Saad, was shot and died some days later. Clashes between the army and armed groups in Sidon and Tyre followed at the start of March: de Clerck and Malsagne give 6 soldiers and 11 civilians killed and an army pull-out from Tyre, Hanf 5 soldiers and 11 civilians. The Kataeb staged a pro-army demonstration in Beirut. Hanf puts the fishermen's protest in March, and Picard describes the Sidon marchers as Palestinian militants.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 26 February 1975
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May 1975
Saturday, 31 May 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Zahleh's young militia takes position above the town.
Tajammu fighters, from a Zahleh group of intellectuals and young men whose first leaflet appeared on 24 May, took the Virgin statue hill at the town's northern entrance, a front-line post watching the Saadnayel road.
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July 1975
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
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September 1975
Sunday, 7 September 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Tripoli was in fire and blood
Exceptionally violent fights opposed Tripolitans to Zghortiotes, causing fires, kidnappings and street fights.
What the books addHistorians describe the Tripoli-Zgharta round as following the Zahleh fighting of late August: kidnappings on both sides, the killing of twelve Muslim bus passengers on the Beirut-Tripoli road, attacks on Christian villages in Akkar and the flight of Christians from Tripoli and Akkar. It ended when the army created a buffer zone between the two towns.
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January 1976
Wednesday, 7 January 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Palestinian camps of Tell El Zaatar and Jisr El Bacha being under a blockade, 1200 armed elements attacked the region of Horsh Tabet. Pitched battles opposed Phalangist and Fedayin activists.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne date the siege of Tal al-Za'tar from 4 January 1976 to the camp's fall on 12 August. According to Hanf, Interior Minister Camille Chamoun had Internal Security Forces units join the assault.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 4 January 1976
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Saturday, 31 January 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The 'Front for Freedom and Man in Lebanon' is formed.
Maronites including Camille Chamoun, Pierre Gemayel and Father Charbel Qassis, with the Greek Orthodox Charles Malek, founded the short-lived Front for Freedom and Man in Lebanon, from which the Lebanese Front emerged months later.
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February 1976
Saturday, 7 February 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
President Frangieh and Prime Minister Karami go to Damascus.
Sleiman Frangieh and Rashid Karami travelled to Damascus, where, with President Assad, they agreed on the text of a 'Constitutional Document' to reform the distribution of power.
Sources differ: Traboulsi's chronology gives 7 February as the day Frangieh declared the Document.
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March 1976
Wednesday, 31 March 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
US envoy Dean Brown arrives in Beirut.
Dean Brown recalled telling Maronite leaders that Syria, not American or international action, held the answer. Ford sent him to Beirut as envoy on Kissinger's advice; the US-brokered Syrian intervention took shape over his two-month stay.
Sources differ: Traboulsi's chronology gives 1 April.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 1 April 1976
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May 1976
Saturday, 29 May 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Akkar's deputy asks Assad to intervene.
Assad received two same-day appeals to intervene and stop the bloodshed at Qubayat and Andaqit: a telephone call from Mikhael Daher, the area's Christian deputy, and a message from a 'gathering of the inhabitants of Kobeyat'.
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June 1976
Monday, 7 June 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Violent combats opposed pro-Syrian formations to Palestinian Progressive militiamen in several districts of Beirut. Syrian troops entered the capital where most Palestinian Progressive forces were concentrated.
What the books addIn Beirut in early June, Hanf writes, Fatah and its allies turned on Saiqa, the PLA and the pro-Syrian parties and cleared them from the city within a few hours. Syria's regular army stayed outside the capital for now: on 7 June its troops got as far as Sofar on the Beirut-Damascus road and into Sidon, where an armoured column was wiped out. Syrian forces reached Beirut only in mid-November, within the Arab Deterrent Force.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 14 November 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syrian troops reach Sofar and Sidon; a Syrian armoured column is destroyed in Sidon.
Palestinian fighters and Lebanese Arab Army soldiers wrecked the Syrian armour sent into the centre of Sidon and forced it back, once Syrian columns had reached Sofar, on the Beirut-Damascus road, and the city's edge. Long Syrian shelling of the camps followed.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne place the 7 June fighting at Bhamdoun; Hanf at Sofar.
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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
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July 1976
Thursday, 29 July 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Arafat and Assad announce a new cease-fire.
Wary of the PLO-Syria cease-fire reached through Libyan mediation, the Lebanese Front pressed harder on the Palestinian positions left in East Beirut. Its terms also covered recognition of Syria's role, the Cairo Agreement and 'non-interference' in Lebanese affairs.
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August 1976
Tuesday, 31 August 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Christian militias form a unified command, the Lebanese Forces.
Drawing lessons from Tal al-Za'tar, where Christian forces had fought under separate commands, Bashir Gemayel set up a unified command council, headed by himself, with two members per militia.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne date the official founding of the unified command to 25 March 1976 (see addition 1976-03-25-lf-command).
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October 1976
Sunday, 3 October 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Lebanese leaders went to Paris for consultations. Kamal Joumblatt and Pierre Gemayel believed that France should help find a solution to the Lebanese crisis.
What the books addTalks in France with the government and Mitterrand's opposition left Jumblatt sure that France could do nothing in Lebanon against Syrian and US opposition (Traboulsi). His tour, by boat from encircled West Beirut to Cyprus, then Cairo, Algiers and Paris, sought Arab contingents to offset the Syrians.
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January 1977
Monday, 3 January 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A violent explosion shook the district of Accoui in Achrafieh causing 26 dead and 70 injured.
Shattered glass fell all over the streets hitting several vehicles. The death toll rose to 50 by the next morning.
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April 1977
Friday, 29 April 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A meeting between the Syrians, the Lebanese, and the Palestinians was held in Baabda.
President Elias Sarkis met with the chairman of the PLO, Yasser Arafat. The meeting dealt mainly with the evacuation of Damour by the Palestinians and the execution of the Cairo agreement.
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May 1977
August 1977
Wednesday, 3 August 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The American Secretary of State, Cyrus Vans arrived to Beirut as part of a Middle East tour. He was welcomed in Baabda by President Sarkis. The meetings covered essentially the situation in the south and the American guarantees regarding an eventual Israeli military action in that region. Lebanese officials discussed with Vance the possibility of dispatching United Nations contingents to Southern Lebanon.
What the books addVance's airport motorcade skirted Sabra and Chatila after a Beirut visit, dated by Fisk to autumn 1977, to hear the government's views on the Palestinians' future.
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October 1977
Monday, 3 October 1977
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
After having pointed out the unusual increase of the number of refugees on the Lebanese territory, Fouad Boutros, Minister of Foreign Affairs, declared to the United Nations: 'Lebanon pays for the mistakes committed by the others.'
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January 1978
February 1978
Tuesday, 7 February 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A serious incident occurred in Fayadieh.
Lebanese Soldiers fought with elements of the Arab Strike Force. Shots were exchanged followed by heavy armaments shootings.
What the books addHistorians date the Fayadiyeh incident to 7 February (de Clerck and Malsagne), 8 February (Hanf) or 17 February (Ménargues). It began when Syrian soldiers set up a roadblock in front of the Military Academy; officer cadets, led according to de Clerck and Malsagne by Captain Samir (Sami) al-Achkar, fought back and Syrian artillery shelled the barracks. Syrian losses are given as 13 dead and 36 wounded (de Clerck and Malsagne), over 30 dead (Ménargues) or 220 dead and 30 wounded (Hanf). As fighting spread into East Beirut, about a hundred people died when Syrian guns shelled Badaro, Ain el-Remmaneh and Karm el-Zeitoun. Sarkis and Damascus settled the affair with a joint Lebanese-Syrian military court. De Clerck and Malsagne date the Syria-Christian split to it.
Other dates in the books: Wednesday, 8 February 1978, Friday, 17 February 1978
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March 1978
May 1978
Sunday, 7 May 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The 'Mikhael Naimy' week was inaugurated under the patronage of the President of the Republic. This event was a Lebanese tribute to the great thinker and writer who stirs up Lebanon's tradition and vocation in the field of thinking.
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Wednesday, 31 May 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A Sarkis-Assad summit was held in Lattaquieh. They discussed the Israeli occupation of South Lebanon, the military cooperation between the two countries, and the difficulties encountered in the pacification process in Lebanon.
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July 1978
Friday, 7 July 1978
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
President Sarkis announces his resignation.
On 7 July President Elias Sarkis, unable to stop the Syrian shelling of East Beirut, tendered his resignation. Washington and President Assad both pressed him to stay; without him the Syrian presence would have lost its Lebanese and Arab legitimacy.
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Monday, 31 July 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Lebanese Army units were dispatched to South Lebanon.
They remained there until the end of the year. Christian militias supported by Israel in the South stopped their advance.
What the books addHanf writes that Major Haddad's forces fired at Kaukaba on the units sent south in early August, men of the 'vanguard' Syria trusted, and drove them into retreat. Haddad later rebelled openly against the army command, and Israel took over paying his men.
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October 1978
Tuesday, 3 October 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
France took the initiative of a cease-fire in Beirut and suggested the repositioning of the Arab Strike Force, as well as the interposition of a Lebanese Force between the belligerents.
Other date in the books: Monday, 16 October 1978
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Saturday, 7 October 1978
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Syrian shelling of East Beirut stops; Sarkis asks for the ADF mandate to be extended.
Syria stopped shelling East Beirut on 7 October, one day after the UN Security Council demanded a ceasefire. Also on 7 October, President Sarkis publicly asked for the Arab Deterrent Force's mandate to be extended beyond its expiry on 28 October. Syria kept its blockade in place until the Arab League had renewed the mandate.
Sources differ: Original entry 219 puts the Security Council's ceasefire call on 4 October; entry 220 has residents leaving the shelters on 8 October.
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November 1978
Wednesday, 29 November 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The President concluded his visit to Paris with disappointment. France took a moderate position while thousands of Lebanese who fled to Paris exhorted the French government to react. However, politics has its own reasons.
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May 1979
Thursday, 31 May 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
At the meeting of the Security Council, Lebanon claimed the reinforcement of the UNIFL. Moreover, Beirut requested the condemnation of Israel and the re-activation of the Armistice Commission.
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August 1979
Friday, 31 August 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
On the occasion of the first anniversary of the disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr, a general strike paralyzed Beirut. For the first time Sheikh Mohammed Mehdi chamseddine accused the Libyans of his disappearance.
Other date in the books: Friday, 25 August 1978
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September 1979
Friday, 7 September 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Three commandos hijacked an Alitalia airplane. Their objective was to denounce Kadhafi in front of the international opinion. 141 passengers out of 175 were released at the airport of Rome. The air pirates surrendered to the Iranians the next day.
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October 1979
December 1979
Friday, 7 December 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
For the first time in Lebanon, a particularly delicate surgical intervention was successfully undertaken. Professor Wafic Sinno performed an implantation of an artificial crystalline at the Hotel-Dieu hospital.
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February 1980
Sunday, 3 February 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Arab Strike Force units stationed in Beirut projected to withdraw towards Aley in the next few days. The decision surprised the government and the chief of State presided a meeting to study how to fill the gap.
What the books addHistorians describe the Syrian pull-back from Beirut in 1980 as a redeployment to the Bekaa and to mountain positions overlooking the capital, with a garrison kept in West Beirut (Hanf). The Lebanese army could not replace the departing Arab Deterrent Force everywhere (Picard).
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Thursday, 7 February 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The most beautiful blue eyes in the world visited Lebanon. Alain Delon arrived at the Beirut International Airport and charmed the Lebanese.
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Confrontations occurred between the Phalangists and the Zghortiotes in Knat, killing ten persons. Many fights opposing the two parties followed. Shells hit several villages in the cazas of Batroun, Koura, and Jbeil and over 10,000 civilians flew the combats. Finally, the Arab Strike Force entered Knat, and order was reestablished in the region on February 18.
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May 1980
June 1980
Tuesday, 3 June 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Violent combats were reported in Saida.
Soldiers from the Lebanese Army clashed with armed elements from the Resistance, acting under the name of officer Ahmed Khatib's Army of Arab Lebanon. The confrontation started by an ambush in Remeile against a military convoy. The town of Saida observed a strike in protest against these incidents.
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July 1980
Monday, 7 July 1980
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Bashir Gemayel's forces crush Chamoun's Tigers; the Christian militias are unified as the Lebanese Forces.
Bashir Gemayel's forces struck at dawn at the offices and barracks of the National Liberal Party's Tigers militia across the Christian region, including the Safra Marine resort north of Jounieh, where Dany Chamoun narrowly escaped. By evening Bashir had called Phalange and National Liberal leaders to the church of Saint Anthony in Sodeco; with Camille Chamoun chairing, he proposed folding the militias into a Lebanese Forces he would lead. Estimates of the dead run from about 70 to several hundred, many of them civilians.
Sources differ: Stored entry 375 dates the assault to 8 July. Death tolls: about 70 dead and 100 wounded (Ménargues); about 100 Tigers (Hanf); about 150 including 83 Tigers (de Clerck and Malsagne); 150 to 200, mostly civilians (Traboulsi); several hundred civilians (Fisk).
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August 1980
Thursday, 7 August 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Car bombs continued in Lebanon in a cortege of horror. A car bomb exploded in Achrafieh, Sassine square, killing one person and injuring 30 others. The population developed a real phobia and was haunted by these cars that spread death.
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October 1980
Friday, 31 October 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Lebanese army evacuated Ain el Remmaneh and gathered on the Damascus road and on major Streets.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne date Lebanese Forces control of East Beirut to this day; Ménargues dates the final takeover of Ain el-Remmaneh to late November. See the note on 27 October.
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November 1980
Friday, 7 November 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
An agreement was reached between Camille Chamoun and Pierre Gemayel to unify the Lebanese Forces.
What the books addHanf records the Lebanese Front's formula as 'political pluralism, military unity'. Traboulsi describes an eight-member executive committee under Bashir Gemayel running the Lebanese Forces: three Phalange seats, two each for the National Liberals and the Tanzim, one for the Guardians of the Cedars. Ménargues notes that after Ain el-Remmaneh Bashir had every unit swap its militia badges for one common insignia.
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December 1980
Wednesday, 3 December 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The government held its first meeting on October 25. Despite the opposition of the Amal movement, the four Shiite ministers attended the meeting.
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A murderous Israeli raid was perpetrated between Damour and Saadyat. A Lebanese memorandum presented to the UN reported 15 deaths and 13 injuries.
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Wednesday, 31 December 1980
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A Syrian-Israeli air fight took place in the Lebanese sky. Damascus admited that its two Migs were hit and that two Israeli airplanes were shot down. Tel-Aviv denied this information.
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January 1981
Saturday, 3 January 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
After its withdrawal from Ain El Remmaneh on October 31, 1980 the Army repositioned on the main road axes in the region.
What the books addDates differ. De Clerck and Malsagne's chronology has the Lebanese Forces controlling East Beirut from 31 October 1980. Ménargues puts the LF's 48-hour assault on Ain al-Remmaneh, held by Elias Hannouche's Chamounists, ten days after the 10 November car bombs, around 20 November 1980.
Other dates in the books: Friday, 31 October 1980, Thursday, 20 November 1980
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dates 1–60 of 197 next
