The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
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dates 1–60 of 114 next
January 1990
Wednesday, 3 January 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Aoun accused three of his officers of plotting to put the Amchit garrison under General Emile Lahoud, the Hoss government's army commander, and to move south, and had them arrested; they had been in talks with Lahoud.
Friday, 5 January 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Saturday, 27 January 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Both sides had Iraqi weapons. The spark was a school in Furn al-Chebbak, a strategic point between Baabda and East Beirut, which the Lebanese Forces had requisitioned and Aoun's government wanted back for the Ministry of Education. When the militia would not leave, the army fired, and heavy fighting broke out in many places within hours.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne date the outbreak at Furn al-Chubbak to 31 January (entry 1177); Picard's chronology gives 30 January.
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 31 January 1990
Wednesday, 31 January 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
- artwork Aoun's paper L'Eveil wrote of a people 'born sixty days ago'; posters at the 1989-90 rallies around the Baabda palace cast him as Saint George killing the dragon.
- testimony Among demonstrators polled at Baabda in early 1990, three quarters were under 40 and 95 per cent opposed the Taif decisions (Professor Labaki's unpublished survey, cited by Hanf).
Other dates in the books: Saturday, 27 January 1990, Tuesday, 30 January 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Amchit capitulated to the Lebanese Forces on 31 January; they had struck the lightly held coastal garrisons while much of Aoun's army faced the Syrians on the enclave's edges.
winter 1989-1990: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Hanf argues that the financial sanctions imposed by Hoss's government set Aoun on course for a clash with the Lebanese Forces. Civil servants in his zone were told to leave government offices and the Central Bank was barred from paying his soldiers and officials; the only money left in the enclave was what the militia still raised as 'taxes'.
early 1990: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
General Aoun's government had set elections for January 1990 when it dissolved parliament in November 1989. Since a vote could not be held anywhere, even where no foreign troops were present, Aoun postponed it indefinitely early in 1990.
February 1990
Thursday, 1 February 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The service basements of the Hôtel-Dieu de France in East Beirut sheltered 150 people from the Syriac quarter on the night of 1-2 February. Staff worked day and night for several days, then lived in the hospital until July.
- testimony Emilie Rizk's Confluences article on the Rizk hospital cites the Hôtel-Dieu de France nursing sisters: during the 1990 fighting in East Beirut the hospital sheltered people from the Syriac quarter, and staff lived there until July.
Friday, 2 February 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Within a few days Geagea held the whole coast of the Christian enclave. Sarba and the Jounieh naval base capitulated to his militia; the smaller army unit in Beirut harbour went to West Beirut and joined General Lahoud.
Saturday, 3 February 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The army takes control of Dbayeh after a tough battle.
Other date in the books: Tuesday, 6 February 1990
Friday, 9 February 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 31 January 1990
Saturday, 10 February 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Colonel Paul Fares, out of the army for some weeks, proclaimed a 'neutral army' on the day the Lebanese Forces moved on the army's mountain position at Kleiat; soldiers from garrisons that had surrendered to the militia joined him. The offensive soon lost momentum.
Sunday, 11 February 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Other date in the books: Saturday, 10 February 1990
Thursday, 15 February 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Other dates in the books: Sunday, 11 February 1990, Friday, 16 February 1990
Saturday, 17 February 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Sunday, 25 February 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
after 16 February 1990: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
The four Fouga-Magister aircraft seized at Halat went to General Lahoud's Qlayaat base as a goodwill gesture from Samir Geagea, who after losing Ain al-Rummaneh appealed to the 'legal authorities', the President and the Hoss cabinet. Hrawi's price: unreserved acceptance of the Taif Agreement and of the government's authority.
Sources differ: Entry 1190 dates Geagea's rapprochement with Hrawi to 3 April.
March 1990
Thursday, 1 March 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Short of ammunition, and facing hard militia resistance in mined streets and houses, Aoun's troops stalled in Sin el-Fil and Nabaa. After little more than a month the war of movement became a stalemate, with Jbeil, Kisrawan, Ashrafieh and Karantina left to the Lebanese Forces, and the Metn, the Baabda area and the coast from Beirut to the Dog River to the army.
Friday, 2 March 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Wednesday, 14 March 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 31 January 1990
Tuesday, 20 March 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Wednesday, 28 March 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Friday, 30 March 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
mid-March 1990: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
In mid-March Aoun offered Hrawi talks, saying the latest battles proved the conflict could be settled 'only by dialogue'; Hrawi refused until Aoun accepted Taif. The two Christian camps' fire on each other's ports prolonged Syria's 1989 blockade.
April 1990
Sunday, 1 April 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Tuesday, 3 April 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Other date in the books: Friday, 16 February 1990
Tuesday, 10 April 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Wednesday, 18 April 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Monday, 23 April 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Other date in the books: Friday, 16 February 1990
April to early May 1990: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
In April, Vatican, US and Israeli pressure stopped the army short of Karantina, the Lebanese Forces' headquarters, which it was preparing to storm after taking the Metn and upper Kisrawan in weeks of fighting that killed several hundred. De Clerck and Malsagne also cite the jamming of army radios by Israeli radars in militia hands, officers won over or bought by the militia, and Patriarch Sfeir's threat to excommunicate Christian soldiers.
Sources differ: Hanf sees stalemate from March, the Lebanese Forces keeping Karantina, with no hint it was about to fall; for Fisk, by July Aoun and Geagea each held half the Christian enclave.
by Easter 1990: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
By Easter, Fisk writes, Christians were fleeing Aoun's enclave, most for Muslim West Beirut, where some had not been for fifteen years; 600 Maronite students returned to the American University. In 1982 West Beirutis had sheltered in the east; now, Hanf notes, tens of thousands of East Beirutis did the reverse.
May 1990
Tuesday, 1 May 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Tuesday, 8 May 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Lebanese Forces guns deliberately and repeatedly shelled the Military Academy, killing its commander, General François Zein, the most senior officer to die in the war. De Clerck and Malsagne see the army, with many Muslim officers and cadets, as a symbol of national unity and a prime target for the militia, whose 'military school' at Ghosta was losing Christian cadets to it.
Sources differ: Entry 1195 on the same day records Aoun closing the roads to Lebanese Forces areas.
Monday, 21 May 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
A Vatican-mediated ceasefire took effect between Aoun's army and the Lebanese Forces. Mutual exhaustion held it; their hatred did not abate, and the Christian enclave stayed divided between them through the summer.
Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne date the truce to 26 May. Accounts of when the war ended differ: March (Quéméner), May (Traboulsi, Fisk), July (Picard).
Other date in the books: Saturday, 26 May 1990
May 1990: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Renewed in Iqlim al-Tuffah in December 1989, the Amal-Hezbollah conflict reached the capital: by May 1990 Hezbollah could strike Amal in central West Beirut. Syria intervened again, restoring calm without letting either militia win.
June 1990
Friday, 1 June 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 11 July 1990
Sunday, 3 June 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Tuesday, 12 June 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
July 1990
Wednesday, 11 July 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
On 11 July 1990 the Hrawi government appealed to every political force, with none excluded, 'to side with legality'. Its plan of action opened with all militias leaving both halves of Beirut. Syria had agreed beforehand; the Maronite Patriarch, the Vatican, France and the troika supported it. Aoun dismissed the appeal as issued 'from illegal offices', while Geagea accepted on condition that Aoun gave up Baabda and Yarze.
Sunday, 15 July 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Other date in the books: Wednesday, 11 July 1990
Monday, 16 July 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Wednesday, 18 July 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Friday, 27 July 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
July 1990: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Amal and Hezbollah fought mainly over Iqlim al-Tuffah, high ground east of Sidon and a route to the Israeli-held border strip. Hanf has the clashes there resuming in December 1989; Hezbollah's official account starts its 'war of Iqlim al-Tuffah' in July 1990, with an Amal siege lasting nearly 100 days.
Sources differ: Hanf: from December 1989. The Confluences article is by the same authors as the 2025 book.
end of July 1990: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Isolated, Aoun began courting Damascus. In late July he described Lebanese and Syrians as one people by custom, tradition and culture, and asked why the two should not be bound more closely than by 'privileged relations'. He had also opened contacts with Hezbollah, though opposition to Taif was all they shared.
August 1990
Wednesday, 1 August 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Thursday, 2 August 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait changed Lebanon's situation. Syria, Iraq's long-time rival, joined the US-led coalition and sent an armoured division to Saudi Arabia. Aoun, armed by Iraq and silent on the invasion, was now opposed by Washington and Damascus alike. The books agree that, in return for joining the coalition, Syria got a free hand to bring Aoun down: the 'red line' that had barred Syrian warplanes from the Christian enclave was lifted.
Friday, 10 August 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syria backed the Arab League summit's condemnation of Iraq. For Picard, joining the anti-Iraq coalition signalled that Damascus accepted the new American order, partly so as to tighten its hold on Lebanon.
Tuesday, 21 August 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Other dates in the books: Sunday, 26 August 1990, Friday, 21 September 1990
Sunday, 26 August 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Monday, 27 August 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
August 1990: day not established
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
In August 1990 Suleiman Frangieh, son of the assassinated Tony, succeeded his uncle Robert as head of the family, which kept some autonomy under Syria in the Christian north.
September 1990
Thursday, 6 September 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Thursday, 13 September 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
On 13 September Aoun, declaring 'I embody the solution', refused to talk to the 'puppets in West Beirut'. He was rejecting the government's final offer after the vote: a ministry of state for him, Baabda to General Lahoud, the Lebanese Forces out of Ashrafieh.
Friday, 21 September 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Hrawi promulgated the revised Constitution, with the Taif reforms written in, and announced on air that it would found the Second Republic. Three ex-army commanders then urged Aoun's soldiers to accept General Lahoud's authority; some officers did.
Sources differ: Hanf calls 21 September the promulgation, after a vote on 26 August; de Clerck and Malsagne and Picard call it the adoption. Entry 1204 dates the vote to 21 August.
Thursday, 27 September 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Other date in the books: Friday, 28 September 1990
October 1990
Monday, 1 October 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Thursday, 11 October 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Syrian jets flew low over Baabda on that day and the next, and Israel did not react; Hanf concludes that its 'red line' on Syrian air power no longer held. The flights followed a letter in which Hrawi, acting on a cabinet decision, asked Assad for the Syrian military support for the Lebanese army that Taif provided.
Sources differ: Entry 1210 on the same day speaks of last-minute efforts to avoid an operation.
Friday, 12 October 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Elie Hobeika gave assurances on 12 October, as Syrian tanks and artillery took up positions in Beirut's southern suburbs. That evening at Baabda Aoun vowed to fight to the finish, but sent his supporters home after a young man tried to kill him before midnight.
Sources differ: Picard's chronology dates the Syrian air attack itself to 12 October.
Saturday, 13 October 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Other date in the books: Friday, 12 October 1990
The Lebanese war · Added from the books
Some of Aoun's units did not hear, or ignored, his order to stop fighting. At Dahr el-Wahash, above Baabda, they fired on Syrian infantry after the surrender; Syrian sources told Fisk they lost 160 men there. Syrian troops then executed captured Aoun soldiers, about a hundred (Hanf), and killed fifteen villagers in Bsous. Fisk found dozens of bodies in the Baabda hospital mortuary, many shot through the back of the head. About twenty senior officers were taken to Anjar or to Syria.
Sources differ: Figures differ by source and are partly second-hand (Syrian sources quoted by Fisk).
- testimony Robert Fisk's eyewitness account of the Baabda mortuary and the Dahr el-Wahash ridge after 13 October 1990 is the most detailed record in the supplied books of the executions that followed Aoun's surrender.
Monday, 15 October 1990
The Lebanese war · 111101 entry in the original chronology
Other dates in the books: Saturday, 13 October 1990, Thursday, 29 August 1991
dates 1–60 of 114 next