90 entries on 87 dates · the books disagree on 90
dates 1–60 of 87 next
April 1969
Wednesday, 23 April 1969
The road to war · From the books
Security forces fire on pro-Palestinian demonstrations; Karami resigns.
Prime Minister Rashid Karami resigned after violent protests, notably in Tripoli: in Beirut and Sidon the army and security forces had fired on mass demonstrations backing the Palestinian resistance, leaving dead and wounded, and in Sidon a march from Ain al-Hilweh camp became an army-commando battle. A cabinet crisis of over seven months followed.
Sources differ: Hanf places Karami's resignation after President Helou's television address of 6 May; Traboulsi and de Clerck & Malsagne put it on or right after 23 April. The length of the crisis is 215 days (Traboulsi) or 216 days (de Clerck & Malsagne). Hanf names Sidon and Ain al-Hilweh; Traboulsi Sidon and Beirut; de Clerck & Malsagne Beirut.
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April 1973
Tuesday, 10 April 1973
The road to war · From the books
Israeli commandos kill three PLO leaders in rue Verdun, Beirut.
During the night of 9 to 10 April, Israeli commandos came ashore and drove into West Beirut in hired cars. Fatah's Abu Yusuf al-Najjar and Kamal Adwan and the poet Kamal Nasser, PLO spokesman, were killed at home, within about a hundred metres of a police barracks; commandos also landed at Sidon. By the time the army was alerted, the raiders had left.
Sources differ: Operation name: 'Verdun' (de Clerck & Malsagne chronology), 'Wrath of God' (de Clerck & Malsagne, p. 50) or 'Aviv Ne'urim' (Ménargues). Fisk adds that the wife of one leader was killed; de Clerck & Malsagne mention civilian collateral victims. Hanf alone mentions targets in Sidon.
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mid-April 1973 (days after 10 April): day not established
The road to war · From the books
Huge funerals for the PLO leaders; Prime Minister Salam resigns.
When Saeb Salam demanded the removal of the army commander, General Iskandar Ghanem, Frangieh refused and Salam resigned. Huge crowds mourned the three leaders; Traboulsi says they were angry at an army used against Lebanese, not for defence.
Sources differ: Crowd size: a quarter of a million (Traboulsi) or nearly 100,000 (de Clerck & Malsagne).
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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).
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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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Thursday, 17 May 1973
The road to war · From the books
The Melkart protocol ends the army-PLO fighting.
On 17 May, after Frangieh bowed to Arab pressure and halted the army, a West Beirut hotel hosted the Melkart signing: no more Palestinian raids into Israel, and a joint army-Palestinian commission. Hanf says it reaffirmed Cairo and proved as ineffective.
Sources differ: 17 May (de Clerck & Malsagne, Picard) or end of fighting on 18 May followed by the agreement (Hanf). De Clerck & Malsagne say it amended the Cairo Agreement; Hanf that it reaffirmed it.
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April 1975
Tuesday, 15 April 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
A cease-fire was reached
After more than three days of anguish, with 120 deaths and many injuries, two suspects were handed over to the Justice. Beirut and its surroundings have been the theater of violent clashes between the Phalange Party and Palestinian militias. Also, Zghortiotes and Tripolitans fought in Tripoli. A cease-fire was declared at night and all parties reached an agreement, the execution of which was entrusted to the Internal Security Forces.
What the books addAfter several days of fighting (Hanf; four, says Traboulsi), Pierre Gemayel gave up to the police two militiamen implicated in the Ain al-Rummaneh shooting. Early Syrian mediation failed to stop this round, which de Clerck and Malsagne end with a cease-fire on 16 May 1975; no book confirms a truce on 15 April.
Other date in the books: Friday, 16 May 1975
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May 1975
Friday, 16 May 1975
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
A cease-fire ends the first round of fighting.
De Clerck and Malsagne date the ceasefire that closed this first round to 16 May; an earlier Syrian mediation had not stopped the fighting. The Solh cabinet resigned the same day (existing entry 15).
Sources differ: The existing entry 13 records a cease-fire on 15 April.
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Monday, 26 May 1975
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The military Cabinet resigned
Islamic and leftist leaders rejected this Cabinet. The Lebanese considered it as a challenge. Karameh presented his candidature to form a new Government, in a climate of terror imposed by militias. Lootings, killings, and kidnappings continued.
What the books addThe National Movement's call for a general strike, supported by the leading Sunni politicians, Mufti Hassan Khaled, Musa al-Sadr and Raymond Edde, brought down the military cabinet on 26 May; on 28 May Frangieh appointed Rashid Karami Prime Minister.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 28 May 1975
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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
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Friday, 9 April 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Parliament amends the constitution to allow an early presidential election.
With Syria enforcing a truce, deputies changed Article 73 of the constitution so that Frangieh's successor could be elected up to six months before his term ended, not two.
Sources differ: Hanf gives 9 April, Yara El Khoury 10 April.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 10 April 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syrian forces enter the Bekaa; Saiqa moves to relieve besieged Zahleh.
Syrian army tanks appeared at Anjar, Judaydat Yabus and Bayadir al-Adas, inside Lebanon, while Saiqa fighters came in and began to relieve besieged Zahleh. When Jumblatt asked, Dean Brown said the Syrians were clearing roads.
Sources differ: The original entry 62 dates the Syrian entry into the Bekaa to 10 April.
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Monday, 12 April 1976
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Assad attacks the National Movement and offers to intervene.
Pierre Gemayel called it a historic speech: in Damascus, President Assad said Syria was ready to send forces into Lebanon to protect any oppressed group, Christian or Muslim, and attacked the PLO and National Movement leaders.
Sources differ: Traboulsi's chronology lists 'al-Asad's speech attacking LNM' under '13 March', apparently a misprint for 12 April.
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Thursday, 15 April 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Despite the extension of the truce, several fronts were set ablaze, including those in Beirut.
A new agreement, called the Damascus Agreement, was likely to be applied in the next 48 hours. Syrian and Resistance leaders had signed it. The agreement stipulated ending hostilities, reactivating the 'Supreme Military Committee', refusing the partition of Lebanon, rejecting American arrangements and plans in Lebanon, continuing the Syrian initiative and refusing the internationalization or the 'Arabization' of the Lebanese crisis. Also, an agreement had been reached stipulating the withdrawal of Syrian troops that entered the Bekaa region on April 10, back to the Masnaa borderline.
What the books addTraboulsi's chronology puts the Syrian-PLO accord to restore order in Beirut on 11 April. Around 9 April Syrian army tanks entered the Bekaa at Anjar, Judaydat Yabus and Bayadir al-Adas (Traboulsi), some forty in all according to Yara El Khoury, as Saiqa fighters set about ending the siege of Zahleh.
Other dates in the books: Friday, 9 April 1976, Sunday, 11 April 1976
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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
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Thursday, 27 May 1976
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Linda Joumblatt, Kamal Joumblatt's 55 years old sister, was cowardly assassinated in her home in Beirut. A group of armed men broke into her apartment and opened fire on her. She was killed while her daughters Nouha, 28 years old, and Samar, 18 years old were injured.
What the books addOn 2 June Bashir Gemayel, having asked for a secret meeting with Kamal Jumblatt, offered him condolences and information on who had killed her. Traboulsi names her Linda al-Atrash and puts her apartment in East Beirut.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 2 June 1976
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May 1977
May 1977: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Begin comes to power in Israel and pledges to protect Lebanon's Christians.
Menachem Begin, prime minister after the Likud's election win, authorised the Mossad to draw closer to Bashir Gemayel; days after taking office he had publicly invoked Israel's 'historic' duty to save Lebanon's Christians from genocide. Hanf and Traboulsi tie the growing Israeli pressure on Lebanon to him.
Sources differ: Ménargues dates the election to May 1977; Hanf says 'the summer of 1977'.
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Lebanese Front demands the end of the Cairo Agreement.
Syria refused the Lebanese Front leaders' conditions for any national reconciliation talks: annulment of the Cairo Agreement and dispersal among other Arab countries of some 200,000 Palestinians they saw as illegal residents.
Sources differ: Original entry 144 reports the same demand after the Ehden meeting of August 1977.
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May 1978
Thursday, 11 May 1978
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Sleiman Frangieh leaves the Lebanese Front.
The Lebanese Front's links with Israel led former president Sleiman Frangieh to quit it, costing the Front its hold on the Christian north.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne (p. 288) also date his withdrawal to after the Ehden killings, which would be later in June.
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Friday, 12 May 1978
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Seiman Frangieh and Rachid Karameh reconciled under the auspices of the Syrian commander of the Arab Strike Force in Northern Lebanon.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne record that Frangieh had quit the Lebanese Front the day before over its ties with Israel. The reconciliation, Hanf notes, made the north a pro-Syrian bloc.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 11 May 1978
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April 1979
Sunday, 22 April 1979
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Attack on Nahariya; Israeli officers set up a secret bombing front in Lebanon.
Senior Israeli officers answered a Palestinian raid on Nahariya, in northern Israel, by creating the 'Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners', manned by Lebanese of several communities. Up to 1983 its bombs killed hundreds of Lebanese and Palestinians, civilians and fighters alike. Prime Minister Begin was told of it only in June 1980.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne attribute the Nahariya attack to the PFLP.
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May 1979
Tuesday, 15 May 1979
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Phalange Party and the LNP merged under the sign of cooperation with the State.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne date the start of the fighting between Kataeb and National Liberal Party militias to 12 May 1979, at Furn el-Chebbak; clashes recurred in various places until July 1980.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 12 May 1979
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May 1979: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Clashes between the Kataeb and the Armenian Tashnag militia.
Refusing to pay the Christian militias' levies, the militia of the Armenian Tashnag party, which had largely kept out of the 1975-76 war, clashed briefly with the Kataeb. Fighting resumed later in the year before the dispute was settled.
Sources differ: Hanf gives May and September 1979 (the original has a clash on 11 September); de Clerck and Malsagne give November.
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April 1980
mid-April 1980: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Irish UNIFIL soldier Stephen Griffin is killed in fighting at At-Tiri.
Fighting broke out at At-Tiri between Saad Haddad's militia and UNIFIL. Militia gunmen killed Private Stephen Griffin, 21, of the Irish battalion, and UN soldiers killed a local militiaman; two of his brothers were later held responsible for the murder of two other Irish soldiers.
Sources differ: Fisk's wording implies 18 April. Stored entries 346 and 347 (10 and 12 April) describe Israeli and militia action against UNIFIL in the same days.
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April 1980: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Nabih Berri becomes leader of the Amal movement.
The lawyer Nabih Berri took over Amal after a short spell under the deputy Hussein Husseini. Under Berri the movement fought the Palestinian organisations and their Lebanese allies, and called for Palestinian fighters to leave residential districts and for the Lebanese army to be sent south.
Sources differ: Hanf and de Clerck and Malsagne's 2020 article give April 1980; the other books give only the year. The 2020 article and the 2025 book are by the same authors.
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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.
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Saturday, 4 April 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
An intensive bombardment in Zahleh killed 20 and injured 100.
What the books addMénargues dates a day of intensive shelling of Zahleh, with about twenty dead, to 6 April.
Other date in the books: Monday, 6 April 1981
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Sunday, 5 April 1981
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israel says it will not stand by over Zahleh; the US Secretary of State is in Jerusalem.
Haig reached Jerusalem on his first official visit as Secretary of State and discussed Lebanon at length with Begin. Hours earlier, leaving a cabinet meeting almost wholly on Lebanon, Foreign Minister Yitzhak Shamir had said Israel could not stay passive.
Sources differ: Hanf attributes the 'will not stand by' statement to Begin; Ménargues to Shamir.
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Sunday, 12 April 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Following several days of violent confrontations with the Phalange militia, the Arab Strike Force completed its occupation of the most strategic hills of Zahleh. The supply channels between the capital of the Bekaa and Mount Lebanon were closed.
What the books addMénargues writes that Syrian special forces, landed by helicopter at dawn on 10 April, soon took the heights of Qalaat Aramta and Deir Charfé around Zahleh, leaving its defenders almost encircled.
Other date in the books: Friday, 10 April 1981
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Wednesday, 22 April 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The nightmare continued. The Lebanese authorities were completely powerless to stop the violence and the conflicting parties were unable to reach an agreement. The Beirut International Airport was closed to traffic and both dead and wounded victims continued to shed their blood on this agonizing Lebanese land.
What the books addAccording to Ménargues, Bashir Gemayel answered the collapse of a cease-fire on 22 April, which left 140 dead or wounded in Beirut within hours, by having the international airport shelled. On 11 May US ambassador John Gunther Dean urged the Lebanese Forces, via Alfred Madi, to let it reopen; that evening they dropped their objection.
Other date in the books: Monday, 11 May 1981
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Friday, 24 April 1981
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syrian helicopter-borne troops seize the summit of Mount Sannine.
Helicopter-borne Syrian special forces overran the Lebanese Forces' posts on Sannine's crest, among them the 'French Room', a mountain post the French built in 1939. Holding Sannine let the Syrians dominate the Christian region down to the coast. Israel's air strike of 28 April followed.
Sources differ: The date is disputed: 24 April (Ménargues), 26 April (Hanf), 21 April for a first landing and 27 April for the fort (Phalangists quoted by Fisk). Ménargues gives the most detail (hour, units, commander), but he relies heavily on Lebanese Forces sources.
Other dates in the books: Tuesday, 21 April 1981, Sunday, 26 April 1981
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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.
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May 1981
Monday, 4 May 1981
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Reagan sends Philip Habib to the Middle East.
Reagan sent Philip Habib, a retired US diplomat of Lebanese descent, as special envoy to ease the Syrian–Israeli missile crisis; he spent months travelling between Jerusalem, Damascus, Riyadh and Beirut.
Sources differ: Ménargues implies Habib was expected in Damascus on 2 May, before de Clerck & Malsagne's date of 4 May for his dispatch.
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Friday, 8 May 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The American envoy Philip Habib began his talks at the Baabda Palace.
What the books addMénargues writes that Habib came from Damascus by road on the evening of 7 May, Beirut airport being closed. De Clerck and Malsagne date Reagan's dispatch of Habib to 4 May.
Other date in the books: Monday, 4 May 1981
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Saturday, 9 May 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Both sectors in Beirut witnessed a day of terror. Blind bombardments caused 21 dead and 98 wounded. The shelling reached Jounieh, Bkerkeh, and Beit Mery.
What the books addFor 8 May, a day of shelling throughout Habib's meetings, Ménargues gives the US embassy toll: 21 dead and 98 wounded.
Other date in the books: Friday, 8 May 1981
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Tuesday, 12 May 1981
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
SAM missiles were launched against Israeli spy airplanes.
What the books addMénargues's run of drone losses begins on 14 May, when a Syrian SAM-6 downed an Israeli reconnaissance drone over the Bekaa; more were lost on 19, 22 (two) and 25 May.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 14 May 1981
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April 1982
Wednesday, 21 April 1982
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Six successive raids were reported within 90 minutes against Aramoun, Naameh and Damour, putting an end to a cease-fire that lasted 9 months. This new aggression claimed the lives of 80 victims.
What the books addFisk, on the coast road when it began, dates the Damour raid to 22 April: Israeli jets struck for over two hours, killing at least 19 Palestinians; Israel cited the death of a soldier on a mine in the south. For Fisk it previewed the invasion.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 22 April 1982
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May 1982
April 1983
Tuesday, 26 April 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Phalangist militia handed over the alleged assassin of Bechir Gemayel, Habib Chartouni, to the Army.
What the books addMénargues dates the handover to 28 April 1983. Held in an army intelligence cell at the Defence Ministry in Yarze, Chartouni admitted the killing before the military prosecutor that day. The case was later handed by Amine Gemayel's cabinet to a constitutional High Court that had never been created; he was freed on 13 October 1990.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 28 April 1983
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May 1983
Friday, 6 May 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Shultz is told in Damascus that Syria will not withdraw.
In Damascus President Assad told US Secretary of State George Shultz that Syria opposed the draft Lebanese-Israeli agreement and would not withdraw; in Beirut, Druze and Phalangist gunners paused only during Shultz's visit.
Sources differ: Hanf dates the Damascus meeting to 6 May, Fisk to 8 May.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 8 May 1983
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Saturday, 14 May 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Council of Ministers approved unanimously the draft agreement with Israel which only needed to be signed.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne say the deputies were told of the text at a closed session on 15 May; Prime Minister Wazzan approved it and sent it to the president, and that month 70 of the 91 deputies still in office backed the government.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 15 May 1983
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Sunday, 15 May 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Deputies are briefed on the agreement with Israel in closed session.
Behind closed doors the deputies went through the text. Foreign Minister Elie Salem argued that Israeli observers for a limited time were better than continued occupation, and Saeb Salam did much to win them over.
Sources differ: Hanf and Fisk date the parliamentary vote to 14 or 15 June (entry 676); in de Clerck and Malsagne's chronology parliament approved the agreement on 17 May.
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May 1984
May 1984: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The network of pro-Iranian Shi'i groups takes the name Hezbollah.
The name Hizb Allah (Party of God), with a flag and a slogan, was adopted in May 1984 by the pro-Iranian Shi'i factions and institutions Iran had united in early 1983. De Clerck and Malsagne say its existence was kept secret until February 1985.
Sources differ: Traboulsi's chronology places an 'official declaration' in 1984; de Clerck and Malsagne (in both the book and their Confluences article, so not independent) say it was only made public in February 1985.
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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
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Friday, 26 April 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Islamic-Progressive militias rushed into Christian villages next to Saida. Thousands of families were forced out of their homes. Tens of Christian villages in the Iqlim El Kharroub and East of Saida were looted, vandalized, and burned. The State was more powerless than ever, the Lebanese Army being unable to stop the massacres.
What the books addAbout fifty Christian villages east of Sidon and in the Iqlim al-Kharroub were taken. Estimates of the Christians displaced range from 70,000 (Picard) and 85,000-86,000 (Hanf) to 80,000-125,000 (de Clerck and Malsagne), many reaching East Beirut by sea; few have returned. Hanf writes that the Kharroub villages were razed with Transport Ministry equipment; Fisk describes Mieh Mieh looted and torn down, and a well filled with corpses at Jiyeh after the Druze took it.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 24 April 1985
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April 1985: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Antoine Lahad sets up the South Lebanon Army.
With Israel gone from Tyre, Antoine Lahad recast the Army of Free Lebanon as the South Lebanon Army, an Israeli-funded and Israeli-armed militia that held the 'security zone'.
Sources differ: The SLA's make-up: mostly Shia troops under Christian cadres (de Clerck and Malsagne) or mostly Christian (Picard).
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May 1985
Thursday, 9 May 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The executive committee of the Lebanese Forces elected Elie Hobeika president and Samir Geagea chief of staff.
What the books addDates differ: 9 May (de Clerck and Malsagne), 12 May (Hanf, who describes a meeting of the LF command council after Geagea had signed a declaration of loyalty to state institutions), 9 September (Traboulsi). Geagea kept the post of chief of staff.
Other dates in the books: Tuesday, 12 March 1985, Sunday, 12 May 1985, Saturday, 28 December 1985
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Monday, 20 May 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
After 20 hours of ferocious combats, Amal and the sixth brigade took control of the Palestinian camps.
What the books addAmal, with the army's mainly Shia Sixth Brigade, attacked Sabra, Chatila and Bourj al-Barajneh on 19 or 20 May. Bourj al-Barajneh held out under siege, Chatila's defenders kept a small area, and Sabra was overrun and razed. Hanf reports massacres when Sabra and Chatila fell, with estimates of 800 to 2,000 Palestinians killed by Shia militiamen in 1985.
Art and memory- novel Hanan al-Shaykh placed her 1992 novel Beirut Blues (Barid Bayrut) in the War of the Camps, during the summer of 1985.
Other dates in the books: Sunday, 19 May 1985, Wednesday, 22 May 1985
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Wednesday, 22 May 1985
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Amal takes Sabra camp.
Part of Sabra was destroyed and made a car park after Amal took the camp in the first round of the 'War of the Camps'.
Sources differ: Hanf says Sabra was destroyed and overrun 'by early June'; the original entry of 20 May speaks of all the camps taken.
Other date in the books: Monday, 20 May 1985
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Michel Seurat and Jean-Paul Kauffmann are kidnapped on the airport road.
The French researcher Michel Seurat and the journalist Jean-Paul Kauffmann were abducted on the airport road. Seurat died in captivity.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne date Seurat's death to 1986.
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Monday, 27 May 1985
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
A British teacher at the AUB is shot in the head by would-be kidnappers.
Would-be kidnappers shot a British teacher on the AUB staff in the head after he apparently tried to fight them off.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 22 May 1985
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Tuesday, 28 May 1985
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
As part of the harassment to which were subject foreign nationals, the director of the American University Hospital, David Jacobsen, was kidnapped while he was leaving the Medical Gate.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 22 May 1985
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April 1986
Thursday, 17 April 1986
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The British teachers John Leigh Douglas and Philip Ralph Patfield, kidnapped on the 28th of March 1986, were executed and their bodies were thrown on the Roueissat-Sofar road. A cameraman, John McCarthy, was kidnapped on the Beirut International Airport road. An extremist organization announced the hanging of Alec Colett, a British journalist who was working at the UNRWA. The dead body of Peter Kilburn, librarian at the AUB, who was kidnapped on the 3rd of December 1984, was also found. Furthermore, the British embassy in Zokak EL Blatt was partially destroyed and burned by rocket shots.
What the books addFisk: Libyan agents in Beirut had bought Kilburn and both British teachers from freelance kidnappers; the deaths were reported the night of the US raid on Libya.
Art and memory- book John McCarthy and Brian Keenan, held together in Beirut, later wrote Between Extremes together, about a journey they had planned while in captivity; it is listed in 111101's References.
Other date in the books: Friday, 28 March 1986
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May 1986
May-June 1986: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The second camps war between Amal and the PLO.
Amal and the Palestinians fought their second camps war in Beirut in May and June, pausing when army units with a Syrian battalion ringed Chatila and Bourj al-Barajneh late in June.
Sources differ: Hanf has fighting over the Beirut camps starting again as early as March and April 1986.
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April 1987
Sunday, 5 April 1987
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
An agreement was concluded between the National Palestinian Salvation Front and the Amal movement under the aegis of Ghazi Kanaan. This agreement stipulated a global cease-fire and the end of the camps' blockade in Beirut
What the books addUnder the 5 April accord, reached by Amal, the PLO and the pro-Syrian Palestinian National Salvation Front with the Syrian general Ghazi Kanaan present, the blockade was to be lifted, the wounded taken out and the PLO was to leave three villages near Sidon. Food and medicine then reached Chatila and Bourj al-Barajneh, the first since March. Picard dates the end of the siege to an Amal-Palestinian agreement of 11 September 1987; Hanf has Amal lifting the blockade only on 18 January 1988.
Other dates in the books: Friday, 11 September 1987, Monday, 18 January 1988
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April 1987: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Clerics propose an Islamic republic for Lebanon, with a draft constitution.
Amal's leaders distanced themselves from an Iranian-style draft constitution by Iranian and Lebanese clerics: all laws to follow Islamic law, an all-Shi'i council to design the new order, autonomy for minorities where they were the majority.
Sources differ: Hanf's footnote 220 dates the same Hottinger article to 6 May 1987, his bibliography to 6 April 1987.
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May 1987
Monday, 18 May 1987
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Marxist thinker Mahdi Amel (Hassan Hamdan) is assassinated.
Hassan Hamdan, known as Mahdi Amel, a philosopher and leading theorist of the Lebanese Communist Party, was assassinated. Hanf says his Shi'i background made him especially hated, branded an 'atheist traitor'.
Sources differ: Responsibility: Hanf names Amal supporters; de Clerck and Malsagne place the killing in the context of the Hezbollah-Communist break without naming the killers.
Art and memory- book Hanf's annotated list of Arabic writing on the war includes Mahdi Amel's 1979 work on the causes of the civil war, Theory in Political Practice, and describes its author as a Shi'i philosophy professor and Communist Party member.
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April 1988
Tuesday, 5 April 1988
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The Amal-Hezbollah war begins in the south.
Amal launched an offensive to disarm Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Brief fighting, notably at Nabatiyeh and Ghaziyeh, went Amal's way, and armed Hezbollah fighters vanished from view there. A three-phase 'war of brothers' had begun, lasting until November 1990.
Sources differ: Existing entry 1068 dates the fall of Nabatiyeh to Amal to 6 April. Picard's chronology gives 28 November 1988 for the beginning of Amal-Hezbollah clashes. The Confluences article is by the same authors as de Clerck's book.
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Wednesday, 6 April 1988
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Following combats between Amal and Hezbollah, Nabatiyeh falls in the hands of Amal militiamen.
What the books addThe books date the start of the Amal-Hezbollah fighting in the south to 5 April 1988 (de Clerck); Picard's chronology gives 28 November 1988, which seems to describe the later round in Beirut.
Other dates in the books: Tuesday, 5 April 1988, Monday, 28 November 1988
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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
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May 1988
Friday, 6 May 1988
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Amal and Hezbollah begin fighting for the southern suburbs of Beirut.
Beirut's southern suburbs became the scene of the second, deadlier round of the Amal-Hezbollah war. Hezbollah took most of the suburbs in about two weeks, after which Syrian troops entered to protect Amal; Quéméner counts 600 dead.
Sources differ: Hanf says Hezbollah, backed by Iranian Revolutionary Guards and by money that bought over Amal commanders, attacked Amal; the Confluences article, citing sources close to Hezbollah, says it held back until Amal attacked. Entry 1074 gives 157 dead and 666 wounded in six days. For the Syrian entry, Hanf gives 17 May 1988, de Clerck and Malsagne '19 May 1989', and entry 1077 gives 27 May.
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 17 May 1988
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