55 entries on 54 dates · the books disagree on 55
February 1983
Monday, 7 February 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israel's Kahan Commission publishes its report on Sabra and Chatila.
Israel's inquiry into the September 1982 massacre blamed the Phalangists above all, finding its own political and military leaders indirectly responsible; Ariel Sharon lost the Defence Ministry.
Sources differ: Fisk quotes the finding as Sharon's 'personal responsibility'; Traboulsi and de Clerck and Malsagne call it indirect responsibility. Fisk also criticises the report for treating the massacre as 'events'.
\_this day in full \_on this day
Monday, 14 February 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Army deployed 3800 soldiers and officers in the East between Nahr El Mott, Dora and Hazmieh, by virtue of a decree granting it extended powers.
What the books addEarly in 1983 the Eighth Brigade went into all of Beirut, the east included, under a plan to collect light arms in the city and clear heavy weapons and gunmen from Greater Beirut. The Lebanese Forces resisted, then on 1 March 1983 agreed to return East Beirut and the port's fifth basin to the state.
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 1 March 1983
\_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
Monday, 7 March 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The State regained control over the fifth basin of the port.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne date the Lebanese Forces' return of the fifth basin to the state to 1 March 1983. Until then its customs receipts, put at 5 million dollars a month, supplied 20% of the militia's revenue. The army held it until 1985, when Samir Geagea took it back.
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 1 March 1983
\_this day in full \_on this day
Wednesday, 16 March 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
14 American Marines and Italian bersaglieri were wounded by three attacks perpetrated in less than 12 hours. Washington and Rome declared however that the Multinational Force would continue its mission. The Lebanese Army launched a clean up operation in the Southern suburbs.
What the books addA caller claimed the attacks for 'Islamic Jihad', then an unknown name; the same voice later claimed the embassy bombing (Fisk). He counts ten Italians, two critically, and five US Marines wounded within 48 hours. De Clerck and Malsagne date these first Islamic Jihad attacks to 17 March.
Other date in the books: Thursday, 17 March 1983
\_this day in full \_on this day
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
\_this day in full \_on this day
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
\_this day in full \_on this day
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
\_this day in full \_on this day
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.
\_this day in full \_on this day
June 1983
Tuesday, 14 June 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
While the bombardments took a dangerous turn in the mountain as they reached residential areas, the Chamber of Deputies approved the ratification of the Mai 17 agreement with 62 votes against 2 and 4 abstentions.
What the books addCounts differ: Hanf has 64 for, 2 against and 4 abstentions among 70 deputies present (40 of 50 Christian and 24 of 41 Muslim members in favour); Traboulsi has 65 for, 2 against and 4 abstentions; Fisk puts the vote on 15 June. Traboulsi says the government formally renounced the agreement on 5 March 1984, Amine Gemayel never having signed it.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 15 June 1983
\_this day in full \_on this day
July 1983
Tuesday, 19 July 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
President Gemayel, accompanied by the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, began an eight-day official visit to the United States where he met with President Reagan. The meetings were centered on the withdrawal of all foreign troops from Lebanon.
What the books addIsrael's announcement on 20 July of an early pull-out from the Chouf mountains, made while Gemayel was in Washington, alarmed Western ambassadors in Beirut (Fisk).
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 20 July 1983
\_this day in full \_on this day
Wednesday, 20 July 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israel announces it will pull back from the Chouf and Aley.
With Gemayel in Washington, Israel announced an early pull-back from the mountains above Beirut, dismaying Western ambassadors; Fisk explains that the army, and the multinational force with it, would be drawn into the Druze-Christian war.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne say Arens announced a withdrawal for 15 September, without dating the announcement.
\_this day in full \_on this day
August 1983
Sunday, 21 August 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The first signs of an imminent Israeli redeployment in the south of the Awali river multiplied. Lebanon urged the United States to intervene in order to delay this initiative.
What the books addIsrael announced the pullback on 20 July. On 16 August Moshe Arens told Gemayel in East Beirut that Israel would leave the mountains even if the fighting had not stopped, and he announced a withdrawal for 15 September. According to de Clerck and Malsagne, the United States tried without success to dissuade Israel.
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 16 August 1983
\_this day in full \_on this day
Sunday, 28 August 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Beirut witnessed four days of madness and bombardments during which the Army lost control of the situation in a matter of one day, in favor of the militiamen.
What the books addTwo US Marines were killed and 14 wounded on 29 August, as Amal, Murabitun and PSP fighters, having seized the south-western suburbs, stormed West Beirut and Syrian-held batteries shelled the east. Using tanks, the army had regained the city centre by 31 August, though not the suburbs.
Other dates in the books: Monday, 29 August 1983, Wednesday, 31 August 1983
\_this day in full \_on this day
Wednesday, 31 August 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Massacre of Christian villagers at Bmaryam.
Christians were massacred at Bmaryam, a mixed upper-Metn village; Christian radio blamed the Druze. De Clerck and Malsagne count 31 dead and date the 'Battle of the Mountain' from it.
Sources differ: 31 August (de Clerck and Malsagne's chronology; Fisk reports the radio news on 31 August) or 1 September (their chapter). 31 dead (de Clerck and Malsagne) or 24 (Christian radio reports cited by Fisk).
Other date in the books: Thursday, 1 September 1983
\_this day in full \_on this day
September 1983
Sunday, 4 September 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Taking the Lebanese authorities by surprise, the Israeli Army began its withdrawal from the Chouf and Aley leaving face to face the militia of the PSP and the LF in a merciless battle. The combats raged mainly around Bhamdoun, Souk El Gharb and Kabr Chmoun. A dramatic situation unfolded in the mountain where thousands of people were forced out of their homes. 30 000 people found temporary shelter in Deir El Kamar. The rehousing of the displaced persons caused a complicated problem for the officials.
What the books addThe Lebanese army had under 24 hours' warning, Fisk writes, before Israeli troops began leaving Aley and the Chouf on the evening of 3 September; by the morning of the 4th they had gone. De Clerck and Malsagne count more than 10,000 Christians from over 60 villages sheltering in Deir el-Qamar.
Art and memory- place Two died at Qabr Chmoun, one of the battlefields named here, on 30 June 2019, when Jumblatt supporters opposing Gebran Bassil's visit attacked a Druze minister. Bassil's speeches on the 1983 Mountain War were blamed; the crisis eased on 10 August.
- book Paul Andary's Harb al-jabal, al-haqiqa la tarham (The Mountain War: the truth does not forgive) was self-published in Beirut in 1983 and has been reissued several times.
Other date in the books: Saturday, 3 September 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Massacre of Druze villagers at Kfarmatta.
On 4 September the Lebanese Forces took Kfarmatta, a mixed village above the sea, killing over a hundred of its Druze and holding 150 to 200 Druze civilians hostage. Clark Todd, a Canadian television reporter wounded there, died in the village.
Sources differ: 107 dead (de Clerck and Malsagne) or 110 (villagers interviewed by Fisk in 1984). De Clerck and Malsagne date the hostage-taking to 4-5 September.
Art and memory- memorial His widow dedicated a memorial in their Hatfield parish church to him and 'all victims of terrorism'. Five months after he died, French TV found in Kfarmatta the pillowcase bearing his last message home.
\_this day in full \_on this day
Tuesday, 6 September 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Bhamdoun falls; its Christian inhabitants are massacred or flee.
Druze fighters, with tanks and anti-Arafat Palestinian guerrillas, routed the Lebanese Forces at Bhamdoun, a Greek Orthodox town, which was then looted. No bodies of the Christian dead were ever found; De Clerck and Malsagne count 334.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne (p. 178) also record that some anti-Arafat Fatah dissidents hid and saved Christians in Bhamdoun.
\_this day in full \_on this day
Friday, 16 September 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The battle for Souk el-Gharb begins.
From 16 September the Druze and their Syrian and Palestinian allies attacked Souk el-Gharb, the ridge village above East Beirut, the Defence Ministry and the Baabda palace, held by Michel Aoun's army brigade. By the army's report most of it had fallen on the night of 18 September.
Sources differ: The Americans afterwards accused the army of overstating its plight to pull in the US Navy (Fisk).
Other date in the books: Sunday, 18 September 1983
\_this day in full \_on this day
Monday, 19 September 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The American warships pounded the anti-governmental forces in the mountain confirming the American support to the legal authority.
What the books addFrom 19 September the destroyer John Rodgers, then the cruiser Virginia, shelled Druze positions at Souk el-Gharb. Washington cited US personnel's safety; Fisk and Hanf see entry into the civil war. Only the frigate Bowen had fired before, on 8 September, at a Druze battery hitting the Marine compound.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 18 September 1983
\_this day in full \_on this day
September 1983: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The siege of Deir el-Qamar begins.
Deir el-Qamar, held by the Lebanese Forces, sheltered more than 10,000 Christians who had fled over 60 villages of the Chouf and Aley. Jumblatt's militiamen surrounded and shelled the town for 102 days, until 15 December.
Sources differ: The original entries give 30,000 (692) and 25,000 (697) refugees.
\_this day in full
October 1983
Sunday, 16 October 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Israeli troops fire on the Ashoura crowd in Nabatieh.
On Ashoura, Israeli soldiers whose convoy had entered Nabatieh's crowds were stoned and fired, killing two Shi'is and wounding seven. De Clerck and Malsagne note it is often seen as a turning point for Islamic resistance to the occupation.
Sources differ: The Israeli army first denied any casualties, then said it had been fired on (Fisk).
\_this day in full \_on this day
Monday, 24 October 1983
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The French President Mitterand made a quick visit to Beirut and declared: ' We will stay'.
What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne note that no French president had visited Lebanon since independence before Mitterrand's trip.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 23 October 1983
\_this day in full \_on this day
Wednesday, 26 October 1983
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Vice-President Bush visits the ruins of the Marine headquarters.
While the Marines were under grenade attack, George Bush toured their bombed base, declaring terror would neither dictate nor change US foreign policy.
Other date in the books: Sunday, 23 October 1983
\_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
March 2000
Sunday, 5 March 2000
After the war · From the books
Israel's cabinet decides on a unilateral withdrawal from the south.
Barak's plan set 7 July 2000 for leaving the 'security zone'. Beirut, deferring to a stalled Damascus, prepared nothing.
Sources differ: Cabinet decision on 5 March (Abirached); Picard places Barak's announcement in April.
\_this day in full \_on this day
March 2000: day not established
After the war · From the books
The Clinton-Assad summit in Geneva fails.
After the Geneva summit failed, Barak announced that Israel would leave the south entirely, with or without an agreement. Mermier sees the Syrian–Lebanese track of talks with Israel ending there; Picard argues that Damascus lost the international latitude it had enjoyed over Lebanon.
Sources differ: February (Picard 2002), March (Picard 2016; 33 jours p. 210) or April 2000 (33 jours p. 176). March has the most support.
\_this day in full
May 2000
Wednesday, 24 May 2000
After the war · From the books
Israel ends its occupation of southern Lebanon.
Israel pulled out overnight on 23–24 May as the South Lebanon Army, deserting since early May, collapsed. Villagers streamed home, crowds forced open the Khiam jail and several thousand SLA men and relatives left for Israel. The Shebaa Farms, the Kfarshuba hills and Lebanon's part of Ghajar stayed occupied.
Sources differ: 24 May (Abirached, Tarraf; Picard: night of 23–24) or 25 May (de Clerck and Malsagne, book and article). Occupation lasted 18 years (from 1982, de Clerck and Malsagne) or 22 years (from 1978, Abirached).
Other date in the books: Thursday, 25 May 2000
\_this day in full \_on this day
June 2000
June 2000: day not established
After the war · From the books
Hafez al-Assad dies; his son Bashar succeeds him.
Hafez al-Assad's death in June 2000, a month after Israel quit the south, briefly allowed freer criticism of Syria's presence in Lebanon.
Sources differ: June 2000 (Haugbolle, Picard 2016 ch. IV), May 2000 (Picard 2016 ch. V) or 10 June 2001 (Picard 2002, clearly a misprint for 2000).
\_this day in full
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 2000
Thursday, 26 October 2000
After the war · From the books
Rafiq Hariri forms a new thirty-member cabinet.
Hariri regained the premiership after the 2000 elections, but the hopes that had greeted him in 1992 were gone.
Sources differ: September 2000 (Quéméner) against October (Picard, Abirached).
\_this day in full \_on this day
October 2000: day not established
After the war · From the books
The Maronite bishops openly criticise Syria.
The bishops' open criticism of Syria echoed protests by Aoun's followers and ex-Lebanese Forces members; Picard sees clergy now contesting Syria's armed presence.
Sources differ: Picard dates the bishops' communiqué to October 2000.
\_this day in full
April 2003
Sunday, 13 April 2003
After the war · From the books
'Remember, so as not to return': a campaign for a national day of memory.
In al-Safir leading politicians openly backed remembering the war for the first time. On 13 April hundreds gathered in Martyrs' Square, handing out flowers and collecting signatures for a national memory day and a memorial; earlier, the Association Mémoire pour l'Avenir and the families' Committee had screened war documentaries unseen in Lebanon at Masrah al-Medina.
Art and memory- place Architect Mona El-Hallak came upon the Barakat building, above the old demarcation line at Sodeco, in 1996, and from 1997 led APSAD's campaign to save it. In 2003 the municipality expropriated it for $3 million for Beit Beirut.
- film Films Haugbolle cites on postwar amnesia include Ghassan Salhab's Beyrouth Fantôme (1999) and Terra Incognita (2002); the novel Ya Salam (1999) by Najwa Barakat follows former militiamen in peacetime.
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 8 April 2003
\_this day in full \_on this day
June 2003
June 2003: day not established
After the war · From the books
Nada Sahnaoui's installation 'Atadhakkar' (I remember) opens in Martyrs' Square.
Sahnaoui set readers' memories of prewar downtown on 360 newspaper stacks, leaving a few stacks bare for what had been erased.
Sources differ: Opening in June 2003 (p. 132); the photograph is dated July 2003.
Art and memory- artwork Nada Sahnaoui's earlier work 'Statistics' listed war casualty figures from the press; Haugbolle's note points to 111101's Artworks section.
\_this day in full
December 2003
December 2003: day not established
After the war · From the books
The US Congress passes the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act.
It demanded a Syrian withdrawal from Lebanon and allowed for sanctions, partly applied from spring 2004.
Sources differ: Passed in November (Haugbolle) or December 2003 (Picard, 33 jours); sanctions from April (Picard) or May 2004 (33 jours).
\_this day in full
September 2004
Tuesday, 7 September 2004
After the war · From the books
Four ministers, including Marwan Hamadeh, resign in protest.
Sources differ: Hamadeh is called economy minister (Abirached) or health minister (Khayat).
\_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
Sunday, 3 October 2004
After the war · From the books
Hariri hands his resignation to Lahoud.
Hariri took the 1 October attack that wounded Marwan Hamadeh as a breach of the assurances he had been given, and resigned two days later. Lahoud waited more than two weeks before accepting.
Sources differ: See 20 October: Abirached dates the resignation then.
\_this day in full \_on this day
Sunday, 17 October 2004
After the war · From the books
The Democratic Left Movement is formally founded.
By December it had joined Christian and Druze parties in signing the Bristol Declaration.
Sources differ: Picard dates a 'Gauche démocratique' to 1997, possibly an earlier group or a slip.
\_this day in full \_on this day
Wednesday, 20 October 2004
After the war · From the books
Rafiq Hariri's resignation takes effect.
He then moved openly towards the anti-Syrian opposition.
Sources differ: Presented 3 October (Khayat), effective 20 October (Abirached).
\_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
Wednesday, 15 December 2004
After the war · From the books
The opposition unites in the Bristol Declaration.
The Bristol Hotel declaration of Christian and Druze parties, Hariri loyalists and leftists demanded independence and democracy, accepted a Lebanese share in the war, and blamed the postwar crisis on a corrupt state ruling by fear.
Sources differ: 15 December (Haugbolle's text) or 12 December (his own note): the declaration may have been published before the formal meeting, or one date is a slip.
\_this day in full \_on this day
2004
2004: day not established
After the war · From the books
UMAM Documentation and Research starts collecting the war's archives.
Founded by Lokman Slim and Monika Borgmann in Haret Hreik, it built an archive of war memories; their film 'Massaker', interviewing six men who took part in Sabra and Shatila, was shot between 2001 and 2004.
Sources differ: Founded 2004 (Ismail-Allouche) or active since 2002 (Haugbolle).
\_this day in full
February 2005
Monday, 14 February 2005
Since 2005 · From the books
Former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri is assassinated in Beirut.
Shortly after midday a huge bomb struck Rafic Hariri's convoy outside the Saint-Georges hotel on the Beirut seafront, killing him and others travelling with him. Lebanese politics then divided into two blocs, which took their names from the rallies of 8 and 14 March.
Sources differ: Death toll differs: 22 dead (de Clerck & Malsagne, p. 461 and p. 577); Hariri 'and eight companions' (Abirached, p. 243, although the same chronology's 7 April entry speaks of Hariri 'and twenty-two other persons'); 18 dead (Quéméner). The counts may cover different groups (convoy only, or all victims, including those who died later).
Art and memory- book Sune Haugbolle's War and Memory in Lebanon begins with the Hariri bombing of 14 February 2005, which he takes as the end of postwar Lebanon and which brought the war back to many Lebanese minds.
\_this day in full \_on this day
Monday, 28 February 2005
Since 2005 · From the books
Prime Minister Omar Karami resigns under pressure from the street.
Omar Karami's government resigned as demonstrations grew in downtown Beirut.
Sources differ: Two contributors to the same volume differ: Abirached's chronology dates Karami's resignation to 28 February, Khayat's chapter to 27 February. Abirached's dated chronology is the more precise of the two.
\_this day in full \_on this day
March 2005
Tuesday, 8 March 2005
Since 2005 · From the books
Hezbollah and Amal rally in central Beirut to thank Syria.
Hezbollah and Amal brought a huge crowd into central Beirut to thank Syria and to reject Western interference. Addressing it, Hassan Nasrallah credited Syria with keeping Lebanon stable and warned against foreign meddling. The pro-Syrian '8 March' camp took its name from the day.
Sources differ: Crowd size: about 800,000 (Abirached; Khayat) against 400,000 (Quéméner). De Clerck & Malsagne call it the first mass demonstration, whereas Khayat places it the day after the opposition's third Monday rally.
\_this day in full \_on this day
May 2005
Saturday, 7 May 2005
Since 2005 · From the books
General Michel Aoun returns from fifteen years of exile in France.
Back in Beirut, the Free Patriotic Movement leader told supporters on Freedom Square that his fellow opposition leaders were sectarian. He later came to terms with Hezbollah and joined forces with one-time pro-Syrian politicians.
Sources differ: 7 May (Quéméner) or 8 May (Abirached). Each date has one source; the others give only 'May' or 'a few days after' the withdrawal.
\_this day in full \_on this day
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
July 2005
Tuesday, 19 July 2005
Since 2005 · From the books
Siniora's government takes office, with Hezbollah ministers for the first time.
Hezbollah ministers sat in a Lebanese cabinet for the first time, beside a majority from the former opposition. Siniora went on to head governments until November 2009.
Sources differ: Most sources say July (Confluences 19 July, Picard July); Abirached's chronology has 30 June, perhaps Siniora's designation, which the same book's narrative puts at the end of June.
\_this day in full \_on this day
Tuesday, 26 July 2005
Since 2005 · From the books
Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces, is freed after eleven years in prison.
Released under an amnesty, the former militia leader officially re-founded the Lebanese Forces as a party; his wife told reporters the civil war was over.
Sources differ: 26 July (Abirached) and 'end of July' (Khayat) against 'June 2005' (de Clerck & Malsagne, p. 451-452). Haugbolle's source for the wife's words is al-Nahar of 18 July 2005, which may refer to the amnesty vote rather than the release.
\_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
October 2005
Monday, 31 October 2005
Since 2005 · From the books
UN Resolution 1636 orders Syria to cooperate with the investigation.
Under Chapter VII, the Council threatened Syria with sanctions unless it cooperated fully with the UN inquiry commission.
Sources differ: Picard has 31 October, Abirached 1 November; a late New York vote on the 31st would fall on the 1st in Beirut, but this is unchecked.
\_this day in full \_on this day
