The Lebanese war, 1985

It is a bad beginning of the year for the Lebanese. Beirut was still divided in two, the problem of kidnapped and disappeared persons was unsolved, the fighting continued in the mountain between the Army and the PSP. In South Lebanon, the assault-reprisal cycle continued.

What the books addFisk's figures for December 1984 alone: some hundred attacks on Israeli forces in the south, with three Israeli soldiers, seventeen of Lahad's militiamen and eight collaborators killed.

Thursday, 3 January 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Eric Wehrli, the Swiss chargé d'affaires, was kidnapped in West Beirut. He was later released on January 7 by Amal. The dollar reached 9.10 Lebanese Pounds.

Friday, 4 January 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A commission was created, including the Lebanese Front, the Progressive Socialist Party, Amal, the Syrian Nationalist Party, and parents of the hostages. The crossing points between the two sectors of the capital were reopened while the plan for the Iqlim was halted because of the conflict between the Progressive Socialist Party and the Lebanese Front.

Sunday, 6 January 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The 12th round of the Israeli-Lebanese negotiations in Nakoura started.

What the books addPicard dates the end of President Gemayel's talks with Israel to January 1985.

Added from the books

Resistance bombs hit an Israeli patrol near Abbasiyeh.
On 6 January gunmen near Deir Qanoun en-Nahr shot dead a collaborator, and west of Abbasiyeh a combined Israeli army and Shin Bet patrol was hit by two roadside bombs and retreated towards Tyre under fire.

Tuesday, 8 January 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The security plan for the coastal road and the Iqlim El Kharroub was finally put into execution. The Internal Security Forces started their deployment in these regions.

What the books addHanf dates the army's advance to 9 January 1985, the day he says the Israelis began to pull back. In his account the plan, agreed with Walid Jumblatt, the Sidon Nasserites and the region's Christian deputies, sent a mainly Muslim battalion into the Iqlim al-Kharroub and the Sidon hinterland.

Added from the books

Father Lawrence Jenco, an American priest, is kidnapped in West Beirut.
Kidnappers in West Beirut seized the American Catholic priest Lawrence Jenco, later a fellow captive of Terry Anderson.

Friday, 11 January 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A bomb exploded in Mazraa in front of the Bank of Beirut and the Arab Countries, killing 3 persons and wounding 31 others.

Saturday, 12 January 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The army deployed on the coastal road South of Beirut and in the Iqlim EL Kharroub after the withdrawal of the Lebanese Forces and the PSP militiamen. The government appointed Edmond Naim Governor of the Central Bank, Michel Samaha CEO of Télé Liban, Mohammed Beydoun president of the Council of the South, and Ayoub Hemayed General Director of the Information.

What the books addDe Clerck and Malsagne say Edmond Naim succeeded Michel el-Khoury at the Central Bank because both the militia chiefs and the unity cabinet could accept him.

Monday, 14 January 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Israeli government decided to withdraw its army from South Lebanon progressively.

What the books addThe withdrawal was unilateral and staged. Antoine Lahad's militia, renamed the South Lebanon Army and backed by Israel, was to police the 'security zone' Israel kept. Historians date the departure from Sidon to 17 February (Traboulsi), and the fall-back to the security zone to May-June 1985 (de Clerck and Malsagne).

Saturday, 19 January 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Armed confrontations and artillery duels on the axes Kfarchima-Choueifat and Aitate-Souk El Gharb, extended to the residential areas. Four persons were killed and seven others wounded by shells that fell on the regions of Beit-Mery, Bsous, Ain Saadeh and their surroundings.

Monday, 21 January 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Moustapha Saad, leader of the Nasserist Popular Organization, was seriously wounded in Saida by a car bomb that killed his daughter.

What the books addSaad survived, nearly blind, but was absent when Israel left Sidon. The UN spokesman told Fisk Israel had held up clearance by half an hour for the UN helicopter flying him to the American University hospital.

Thursday, 24 January 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The negotiations in Nakoura were suspended sine die after the two parties refused to moderate their positions.

What the books addPicard dates the end of the talks with Israel to January 1985 and links it to the Lebanese Forces' revolt two months later.

Saturday, 26 January 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Selim El Hoss, Minister of Education and Labor, resigned from office. Efforts were made to convince him to review his decision. Indeed, he withdrew his resignation the next day.

Friday, 1 February 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

An assault against a mosque in Tripoli caused eight deaths and 66 injuries.

Monday, 4 February 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Nothing could stop the dollar from rising. For the first time, the green bill was exchanged for over 15 Pounds on the Beirut stock market while the French Franc was quoted at 1.55 Pounds. The Lebanese authorities requested help from Saudi Arabia and asked Rafic Hariri to intercede with King Fahd to grant Lebanon 500 million dollars to boost the economy.

What the books addAnnual figures: the pound fell to about 16 to the dollar in 1985 against 6.5 in 1984, with retail inflation of about 70 per cent (Hanf, citing Abou Rjaily and Labaki); de Clerck and Malsagne put the 1985 devaluation at 150 per cent. Hanf notes that rumours of large PLO deposits briefly strengthened the pound in early 1985.

Wednesday, 6 February 1985

Added from the books

Colonel Sleiman Mazloum, a Christian army officer, is shot dead.
Islamic Amal, Sobhi Tufayli's breakaway wing of Amal, killed Colonel Sleiman Mazloum, one of several Christian officers murdered to scare other Christian soldiers away and seize the Bekaa barracks.

Thursday, 7 February 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Crewmembers of a Cyprus Airways Boeing were held hostages for 5 hours at the Beirut International Airport, by armed elements from Hay El Sellom. As a result, the company suspends its flights to Beirut.

Sunday, 17 February 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The army made a triumphal entrance in Saida. The transition was smooth and no incident followed the Israeli departure.

What the books addTraboulsi dates Israel's exit from Sidon to 17 February 1985. Fisk describes Christians and Muslims briefly celebrating together when Lebanese troops arrived.

111101 entry in the original chronology

President Gemayel made an unexpected visit to Saida where he was warmly acclaimed. The next day, Islamist women in chador demonstrated in Saida and burnt a Lebanese flag. They also destroyed bars and cafZs, and chanted slogans against the legal authorities.

What the books addPrime Minister Rashid Karami travelled with Gemayel. Hanf records kidnappings of Christians and counter-kidnappings after several thousand Islamists from Beirut rallied in Sidon next day for an Islamic republic while the army stood aside.

Saturday, 23 February 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A security inspector hijacked a Beirut-Paris MEA flight. A passenger was killed and 13 others were injured. The hijacker had wage claims.

What the books addA passenger died on the runway, flung there by the jets' blast, because the hijacker, Fisk writes, made the Larnaca plane take off with its doors open.

Sunday, 3 March 1985

Added from the books

Hundreds of Israeli troops raid Maarakeh.
On 3 March hundreds of Israeli troops searched Maarakeh, east of Tyre, home of the resistance leader Khalil Jerardi. Hidden with his colleague Mohammed Saad, he met the press within hours; a bomb killed both next day (entry of 4 March).

Monday, 4 March 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A bomb attack against the Husseiniyeh in Maarakeh killed 11 persons, including two leaders of the Amal movement, and wounded 28 others.

What the books addOn 4 March 1985, a day after an Israeli raid, a bomb on the roof of the resistance office above Maarakeh's mosque killed Khalil Jerardi, nominally Amal but a Hezbollah supporter, and Mohammed Saad, an Amal commander in the south. French UN officers who examined it believed the departing Israelis had left it (Fisk's report, not an established finding).

Wednesday, 6 March 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Lebanese Pound reached a new record, with over a 19 Pounds drop in value. The pound had lost half its value compared to the dollar since the beginning of the year.

What the books addSee the note on 4 February: Hanf's yearly table puts the pound at 16 to the dollar for 1985.

Friday, 8 March 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A mass killing took place in Bir El Abed. A car bomb killed 62 persons and wounded 200 others, including a large number of women, children and elderly persons.

What the books addSheikh Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, the target, escaped with his bodyguard Imad Mughniyeh. Fisk dates the car bomb to 9 March and writes of more than 80 dead, nearly all civilians, citing the Washington Post on CIA involvement. De Clerck and Malsagne give 80 dead and 256 wounded and cite confessions by local agents, traced by Hezbollah, that the CIA commissioned it with Mossad help and Saudi funds.

Saturday, 9 March 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Thanks to Syria's intervention, opposition ministers Berri and Joumblatt met in Bickfaya with Presidents Gemayel and Karameh. The smoothing of the relations led to a promise of a cooling down on the Souk El Gharb front. During the meeting, the bombs were continuing to fall on Hazmieh and Achrafieh and kidnappings of innocent civilians were still taking place on various crossing roads in Beirut.

Monday, 11 March 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Israelis attacked Zrariyeh claiming tens of victims and huge destructions. Many persons were also arrested.

What the books addA survivor told Fisk an Israeli officer at Zrariyeh shot a Lebanese soldier who had surrendered. Tanks ran over occupied cars; gunmen, women and old men died; and the departing soldiers painted 'This is the revenge of the Israeli army' on the square.

Art and memory

book Souha Taraf-Najib devoted a study to Zrariyé, the village attacked in March 1985: Zrariyé, village chiite du Liban-Sud (Cahiers du Cermoc no. 4, 1992).

Added from the books

Samir Geagea is expelled from the Kataeb.
Samir Geagea was expelled from the Kataeb on 11 March for refusing the government's early-March order to dismantle the Barbara roadblock, manned by his northern militiamen; its tolls had been the Lebanese Forces' main income since Quay 5 was returned.

Tuesday, 12 March 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The United States vetoed the adoption by the United Nations Security Council of a Lebanese resolution that condemns Israeli actions against civilians in South Lebanon.

Added from the books

The 'intifada' of Samir Geagea and Elie Hobeika takes over the Lebanese Forces.
Calling for an 'independent Christian decision' and an end to concessions to Syria, Samir Geagea, Elie Hobeika and Karim Pakradouni led a revolt within the Lebanese Forces against President Amin Gemayel and the Kataeb leadership. The rebels took the LF headquarters in Ashrafieh after its main barracks north of Beirut; the army had to keep them apart from Kataeb loyalists.

Sources differ: De Clerck and Malsagne say the intifada ousted LF commander Fouad Abou Nader, the president's nephew; Hanf presents it as a revolt against the Kataeb leadership and the president. De Clerck and Malsagne's figure of about 1,000 dead covers both intifadas (1985 and 1986) together.

Art and memory

testimony Jocelyne Khoueiry, in the Kataeb women's unit since 1975, quit and went back to civilian life after Geagea's intifada of March 1985; she felt 'our cause had been betrayed'.
place Shellfire and snipers hit the Rizk Hospital in Ashrafieh in 1985, when East Beirut's militia factions fought each other.

Thursday, 14 March 1985

Added from the books

British metallurgist Geoffrey Nash is kidnapped in West Beirut.
Three gunmen abducted Geoffrey Nash near his home in Makhoul Street. Nash, a British metallurgist, worked for the Lebanese industrial institute.

Friday, 15 March 1985

Added from the books

British businessman Brian Levick is kidnapped in West Beirut.
On rue Australie five gunmen took Brian Levick, the Coral oil company's British general manager, out of his car; Terry Anderson was seized twelve and a half hours later.

Saturday, 16 March 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The regional director of the Associated Press, Terry Anderson, was kidnapped in West Beirut. Many other US and British nationals had already been kidnapped. The Islamic Jihad claimed responsibility for these acts.

What the books addTerry Anderson was the AP's Beirut bureau chief. He was seized near the Ain Mreisseh mosque and held for more than six years. Two Britons had been kidnapped in the two days before him; Islamic Jihad claimed all three on 17 March.

Art and memory

book Terry Anderson's memoir Den of Lions (1993) recounts his captivity; Fisk devotes a chapter, 'Wait for me', to his kidnapping.

Sunday, 17 March 1985

Added from the books

Islamic Jihad claims the kidnapping of Terry Anderson and two Britons.
Islamic Jihad told Reuters by telephone that it held Terry Anderson, Brian Levick and Geoffrey Nash, accused foreigners in 'Islamic Beirut' of spying and warned the foreigners who remained.

Tuesday, 19 March 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A second round of fights between the Lebanese Forces, the Army, and the local militias killed 7 persons and injured 30 others East of Saida.

What the books addOver 20,000 Sunnis fled Sidon after the 12 March revolt, as Lebanese Forces units east of the city, reinforced from the north, shelled its Muslim districts, Ain al-Hilweh camp and army posts near Mieh-Mieh. Nasserites, Palestinians and largely Sunni army units united against them (Hanf, Fisk).

Friday, 22 March 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Islamic Jihad kidnapped the French vice-consul, Marcel Fontaine, and another diplomat, Marcel Carton, in Beirut.
A new wage increase was decided, raising the minimum salary to 1475 Lebanese Pounds.

Added from the books

Israeli tank fire on villages south-east of Sidon; two CBS cameramen killed.
A single Merkava shell killed the CBS crew Tewfiq Ghazawi and Bahij Metni at Kfar Melki as Israeli tanks, before leaving Tyre, shelled Shia villages over 16 miles south-east of Sidon; villagers fled. Israel announced 21 'terrorists' dead.

Monday, 25 March 1985

Added from the books

British writer Alec Collett is kidnapped at Khalde.
Alec Collett, 64, a British freelance writing on Palestinian refugees for the UN, was never freed. Gunmen took him a hundred yards from Amal's Khalde checkpoint; the 'Revolutionary Organisation of Socialist Muslims' claimed it.

Added from the books

A pro-Syrian Palestinian National Salvation Front is created in Damascus.
The pro-Syrian Palestinian National Salvation Front was set up in Damascus.

Monday, 1 April 1985

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.

Tuesday, 9 April 1985

Added from the books

Sana' Muhaydli drives a car bomb into Israeli soldiers near Jezzine.
Sana' Muhaydli, an SSNP member from the Tyre region, carried out a car-bomb attack on Israeli soldiers at Batir, near Jezzine, killing two. Known as the 'bride of the South', she is regarded as Lebanon's first woman 'martyr'.

Art and memory

memorial Sana' Muhaydli, the 'bride of the South', is known as Lebanon's first woman 'martyr'; Amal women killed confronting Israeli troops or the SLA in 1982-1985 are honoured yearly.

Thursday, 11 April 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Israelis left Nabatyeh, followed by the Resistance.

Tuesday, 16 April 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

West Beirut plunged back into panic and street combats, with the outburst of abrupt confrontations between Amal and the Mourabitun, killing 2 persons and wounding 16 others.

What the books addThese clashes ended with the destruction of the Mourabitoun militia by Amal and the PSP. Fisk and Hanf date it to April 1985; Picard and de Clerck and Malsagne to May 1985.

Wednesday, 24 April 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

After 40 days of combats, the Lebanese Forces fighters started to withdraw from Saida. The Israelis continued their withdrawal in the West of the Bekaa region; only 12% of the Lebanese territory remained under their control. The Lebanese Army settled in the evacuated areas but the PSP positioned in the Barouk while the South Lebanon Army took position in Jezzine.

What the books addHanf: Lahad's South Lebanon Army halted the Palestinian and Sunni advance at Kfar Falous, midway between Sidon and Jezzine, and on 24 April the Lebanese Forces' fighters from other regions shipped out to Beirut with their heavy artillery. De Clerck and Malsagne date Lahad's creation of the SLA to April 1985, after Israel left Tyre.

Friday, 26 April 1985

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.

Monday, 29 April 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Israelis withdrew from Tyr and the Lebanese army replaced them.

What the books addFisk: once Israel had left Tyre, Shia militiamen called the Litani bridge the 'Khalil Jerardi bridge', after the resistance leader killed at Maarakeh.

Tuesday, 30 April 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

It was hell in Beirut. Insane bombing continued in both sectors of the capital, crossing points had been closed illustrating the gravity of the situation, while 20,000 Christians from South Lebanon took refuge in the region of Marjeyoun.

What the books addIsraeli helicopters dropped leaflets urging the Christians who fled in 1985 to stay in the occupied zone; most went north to the Christian areas. Hanf counts 86,000 refugees in Jezzine and the zone.

Thursday, 2 May 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Lebanese overseas protested against the recent events in Lebanon. They occupied the Lebanese embassies and consulates in the West, in order to attract the attention of the public opinion to the fate of those living in South Lebanon.

Tuesday, 7 May 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

29 persons were killed and 89 were wounded in a crazy night of shelling in Beirut. All what the inhabitants could do was to suppress their despair, hide in buckers, and thank god the next day for being still alive.

Thursday, 9 May 1985

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.

Saturday, 11 May 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

In a message addressed to the United Nations, John Paul II begged: 'Do not abandon Lebanon.'

Monday, 20 May 1985

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.

Wednesday, 22 May 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A car bomb spread terror in Sin El Fil, killing 30 persons and wounding 172 others. Tens of houses and stores were also destroyed.

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.

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.

Monday, 27 May 1985

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.

Tuesday, 28 May 1985

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.

Thursday, 6 June 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Israel officially completed its withdrawal from South Lebanon. Nevertheless, several Israeli soldiers continued to occupy the Security Zone. In reality, the last Israeli armored vehicle left Lebanon on June 10 after an accident in which Israel lost 654 deaths and 3890 injured, and four disappeared soldiers.

What the books addIsraeli losses: de Clerck and Malsagne count 670 dead and nearly 3,000 wounded between June 1982 and June 1985 (and 721 dead and 3,890 wounded for the whole war); Traboulsi writes of some 500 dead. Israel kept a 'security zone' policed with Lahad's South Lebanon Army.

Art and memory

place Israel opened a clandestine prison at Khiam in 1985; Soha Bechara, a communist resistance fighter, was held there for ten years.

Sunday, 9 June 1985

Added from the books

Thomas Sutherland, acting dean at the AUB, is kidnapped.
Islamic Jihad claimed the kidnapping of Thomas Sutherland, 54, AUB's acting dean of agriculture.

Tuesday, 11 June 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A Boeing of the Alia airlines was hijacked by a suicide commando called Moussa Sadr, requesting the evacuation of all Palestinian fighters from Beirut. The hostages were freed the next day and the airplane was dynamited at the Beirut International Airport.

What the books addAn American passenger was hijacked twice in a day, Fisk writes: moved from the Jordanian plane, which Amal gunmen set alight on the runway, onto an MEA Boeing that a Lebanese then seized in protest.

Friday, 14 June 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A car bomb exploded next to a checkpoint belonging to the sixth brigade in Jnah causing 13 dead and 36 injured.
A Boeing 727 from the TWA connecting Athena to Rome was hijacked over Beirut. The hijackers requested the liberation of all prisoners held in Israeli jails. One of the US passengers was shot. Nabih Berri negotiated with the hijackers, and around 40 American hostages were transferred to the Southern suburbs of Beirut. A US naval force headed to Lebanon on June 17. On June 24, Israel released 31 prisoners. On June 30, the US hostages were released. An International Red Cross convoy took them to Damascus where they boarded on a plane going to Frankfurt.

What the books addFisk identifies the TWA 847 hijackers as Hezbollah members operating as Islamic Jihad and names Imad Mughniyeh as the planner; the passenger they killed was Robert Stethem, a US Navy diver. Amal moved most of the passengers into the southern suburbs. In the end Syrian officers received the hostages and took them to Damascus, and Israel released its Lebanese Shia prisoners over the next two months.

Art and memory

film Fisk sees in Delta Force, an Israeli-made feature film based on the TWA hijacking, the ending Americans would have liked: the film showed American commandos storming West Beirut and freeing the passengers.

Monday, 17 June 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Damascus agreement put an end to the Camps War that caused, in four weeks, 700 deaths and 2,500 injured.

What the books addThis ceasefire closed only the first round (May-June 1985) of the 'War of the Camps', also known as the 'Ramadan war'; by the time Syria imposed it, Fisk reports, 600 people had died. Sieges and fighting returned in 1986 and went on until 1987-1988; de Clerck and Malsagne count 2,000 to 3,000 victims in all.

Art and memory

book Hala Abou Zaki studies how the Palestinians' war record serves to justify excluding them today; the War of the Camps (1985-1987), waged by Amal with Syrian help, finished what was left of the PLO.

Thursday, 20 June 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

As part of the war between Sunni Islamists and the Arab Democratic Party, a car bomb exploded in Tripoli killing 50 persons and wounding 110 others.

Thursday, 27 June 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Elias Sarkis, former President of the Lebanese Republic, died at 61 years old. He was suffering from a disease that paralyzed his lymphatic and nervous system. Grandiose funerals were organized in Mar Takla church in Hazmieh.

What the books addElias Sarkis died in Paris (de Clerck and Malsagne).

Monday, 1 July 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Following the hostages' crisis, Washington called for the boycott of the Beirut International Airport.

Tuesday, 9 July 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

An agreement between all Moslem leaders was concluded in Damascus to pacify West Beirut, while fights were raging in Tripoli.

What the books addSyria sent ceasefire 'observers' to West Beirut in 1985, its first presence there since 1982: June according to Picard, August according to Hanf.

Added from the books

Two suicide car bombs hit South Lebanon Army checkpoints.
On the same day Khaled Azrak and Ibtissam Harb, an SSNP member, drove cars into SLA checkpoints. Azrak's attack near Hasbaya killed 15: civilians and at least two SLA militiamen. Harb's farewell video was broadcast four hours after her death.

Wednesday, 10 July 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

An Israeli raid on the camps of Nahr El Bared and Beddaoui caused 15 deaths and 50 wounded.

Monday, 15 July 1985

Added from the books

Suicide attack on an SLA checkpoint near Kfar Tibnit.
A car attack by Hisham Abbass, aged 20, on an SLA checkpoint near Kfar Tibnit killed him and nine others, two of them SLA men and seven civilians.

Tuesday, 30 July 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Syria delivered 46 tanks to the Amal movement while surprise bombardments continued in Beirut and civilians were still being kidnapped on the crossing points.

What the books addHanf counts fifty tanks for Amal, thirty for the army's Sixth Brigade and none for the PSP; Picard mentions T-54 tanks.

Wednesday, 31 July 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

President Sleiman Frangieh and Elie Hobeika were reconciled.

Added from the books

Suicide car attack on an Israeli patrol at Arnoun.
Ali Ghaleb Taleb, 22, crashed his car into a patrol of Israeli soldiers in Arnoun.

Friday, 2 August 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Israeli aviation destroyed the headquarters of the Syrian Nationalist Party in Chtaura after the multiplication of car bombs in South Lebanon.

Tuesday, 6 August 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Front of National Unity, a coalition of West Beirut parties, created a month earlier in Damascus, was born.

What the books addFor Picard, the National Union Front, like the 1983 National Salvation Front, had no common ground beyond hostility to Christian leadership and reliance on Syria.

Added from the books

A donkey loaded with explosives blows up near Israel's headquarters in Hasbaya.
Jamal Sati, 23, died with his donkey near the Hasbaya headquarters of Israel's military governor when he set off the 400 kilos of TNT it carried.

Sunday, 11 August 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Greater Beirut was violently bombarded with heavy artillery. Sixteen civilians were killed and 60 others were wounded.

Added from the books

Shia militias begin shelling Zahleh.
Shelled by Shia militias, the Lebanese Forces in Zahleh retaliated against the Shia villages nearby; they later pulled out under an arrangement brokered by Christian notables (see 30 August).

Wednesday, 14 August 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A new massacre occurred in Sad El Bauchrieh where a car bomb exploded causing 12 dead and 115 injured persons. This explosion was intended to maintain a climate of insecurity in the country, making the largest number of victims, and sinking the population's morale to its lowest level.

Saturday, 17 August 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A car bomb in front of the Melki supermarket in Antelias killed 40 persons and wounded 122 others. Most of the victims died carbonized or asphyxiated.

Monday, 19 August 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Death was moving around in West Beirut. Two car bombs exploded at Caracol-Druze and Ghobeireh within half-an-hour, resulting in 29 dead and a hundred injured. Several Christians were kidnapped on various crossing points right after the explosions.

Tuesday, 20 August 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Shells fell on Beirut in each and every neighborhood. Thirty persons were killed and 117 wounded, while tens of houses were destroyed. A car bomb exploded in Tripoli killing 48 persons and injuring 100 others.

Wednesday, 21 August 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The bombings destroyed two MEA airplanes. The Beirut International Airport was closed to traffic.

Friday, 23 August 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation (the Lebanese Forces TV) was inaugurated to celebrate the third anniversary of the election of Bechir Gemayel as President of the Republic.

What the books addBy the war's end some 42 TV channels escaped state control, de Clerck and Malsagne note; among the militia ones were the Lebanese Forces' LBC, founded 1985, and its French-language C33.

Tuesday, 27 August 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Tens of persons were kidnapped at crossing points. Amal and the Lebanese Forces exchanged 22 hostages on August 29.

Friday, 30 August 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Lebanese Forces ended their military presence in Zahleh and closed their offices in the town.

What the books addHanf dates the Lebanese Forces' withdrawal to 31 August, after Shia militias had shelled Zahleh from 11 August and Christian notables mediated; Syrian troops entered on 7 September.

Tuesday, 3 September 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Beirut was cut into two. There were severe shortages of bread and gas.

Wednesday, 4 September 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

14 dead and 74 injured persons were reported in Zahleh as a result of a car bomb explosion. Three days later, the Syrians invaded the town.

What the books addSyrian troops entered Zahleh on 7 September after the Lebanese Forces' withdrawal (Hanf).

Thursday, 5 September 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Violent combats opposed Amal and the PSP in West Beirut.

Saturday, 7 September 1985

Added from the books

Syrian troops enter Zahleh.
After the withdrawal of the Lebanese Forces, Syrian troops entered Zahleh to restore order.

Tuesday, 10 September 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Syrian observers tried to calm the situation in the Palestinian camp of Bourj Brajneh. Violent combats had opposed Amal to the Palestinians in this camp, causing 40 deaths and 120 injuries.

Thursday, 12 September 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

An isolated incident degenerated into confrontations between the Lebanese Forces militiamen in the Eastern neighborhoods.

Monday, 16 September 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

In Tripoli, ten soldiers from the Lebanese Army were killed and 35 others wounded by shells that fell on the Bahjat Ghanem barracks.

What the books addOn 7 October, Hanf writes, 20,000 Syrian soldiers entered Tripoli, after pro-Syrian groups had in September 1985 attacked the Tawheed movement then holding the city; some 250,000 civilians fled.

Wednesday, 18 September 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Presidents Chamoun, Frangieh, and Helou met in Smar-Jbeil in order to launch wide Christian sittings.

Tuesday, 24 September 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A first Lebanese Forces-Amal-PSP meeting was held in Damascus.

What the books addIn Hanf's account Berri offered the Christians a choice: a census to reset sectarian proportions, or an end to proportionality. Asked by Jumblatt why Syria dealt with Hobeika, Khaddam reportedly said everyone in Lebanon was a murderer.

Saturday, 28 September 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Another dramatic day in Beirut and its surroundings where artillerymen killed 32 persons and wounded 76 others.

Sunday, 29 September 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Beirut International Airport was bombed and some installations were destroyed.

Monday, 30 September 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Three diplomats from the Soviet embassy and the chancellery's doctor were kidnapped in West Beirut. One of them was killed later, while the three others were released on October 30. Twelve Western nationals remained held hostages by Islamist organizations.

What the books addFisk dates it 1 October 1985, de Clerck and Malsagne September. Arkady Katkov was killed. Fisk thinks Sunni fundamentalists wanted Moscow to make Syria halt its Tripoli offensive against Tawheed. The others' release is credited probably to the KGB and Syria by de Clerck and Malsagne, to Syrian mediation by Hanf.

Monday, 7 October 1985

Added from the books

Syrian troops enter Tripoli.
Tawheed gave up under heavy bombardment, and Syria moved 20,000 soldiers into Tripoli.

Saturday, 12 October 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The kidnappings continued in Beirut.

Saturday, 19 October 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

President Gemayel went to New York to plead the Lebanese cause at the UN. He affirmed that 'the internal conflict in Lebanon is resolved', and invited the United Nations to help the Lebanese resolve the external aspect of the war. President Gemayel emphasized the necessity of distinguishing the Lebanese issue from the Middle East issue. He met, among others, with De Cuellar and Shultz.

Monday, 28 October 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

As part of the reconciliation efforts between the Lebanese Forces and Damascus, Syria released 31 Lebanese Forces militiamen.

111101 entry in the original chronology

Saida's Antiquities Service discovered interesting archeological vestiges in limited excavations in the region of Hlaliyeh.

Saturday, 2 November 1985

Added from the books

Lieutenant Georges Chamoun, a Christian officer, is shot dead.
Amal's Islamist dissidents shot dead Lieutenant Georges Chamoun, one of a string of Christian army officers they killed.

Sunday, 10 November 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Terry Waite, the envoy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, arrived in Beirut to negotiate with the Islamic Jihad the release of the four US hostages. He had a tough and lengthy mission that required a second visit to Beirut on December 20.

What the books addFisk: Waite made three Beirut trips; on the first, invited by Islamic Jihad, he stayed in Terry Anderson's flat, met the kidnappers blindfolded and took their message to Washington.

Wednesday, 13 November 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Eastern regions went on strike to protest against the suicide truck killing attempt perpetrated against the leaders of the Lebanese Front gathered in the St Georges convent in Awkar. The assault caused 4 dead and 36 wounded, including Elie Karameh, Edouard Honein, and Fouad Ephrame Boustany who were slightly injured.

What the books addHobeika and President Gemayel escaped injury only because they were not in their cars when these were attacked; Chamoun, Elie Karami and other Lebanese Front leaders were hurt. Hanf places these attempts in a series that, in his view, hardened the confrontation over the Damascus agreement.

Saturday, 16 November 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

It is in front of 15,000 persons including 2,000 Lebanese gathered in the St Peter basilica in Rome that Sister Rafka Rayes, a maronite from Lebanon, was declared blessed by Pope John Paul II. Sister Rafka was born in 1832 in Hamlaya.

Tuesday, 19 November 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

For the first time since 1982, a duel between Israeli and Syrian airplanes took place in the Lebanese sky. Two Syrian Migs were shot down. The Syrians decided after this incident to install Sam-2 ground-air missiles on the Syrian-Lebanese border.

Wednesday, 20 November 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

Violent combats opposed Amal and the PSP in West Beirut. Five days of hell followed for the residents of this region. 65 persons were killed and 250 were wounded.

What the books addHanf's 'Flag War': on 21 November alone, Shi'i and Druze fighters fought with tanks and artillery, leaving 65 dead and over 400 abducted. PSP militiamen had replaced the national flags Sixth Brigade soldiers put on public buildings for Independence Day with their party banner.

Tuesday, 3 December 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

For the first time since the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, the Israeli Army carried out an important military operation outside the Security Zone. A base belonging to Ahmed Jibril's Popular Palestinian Liberation Front was destroyed in the Region of Rachaya El Wadi.

Wednesday, 11 December 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

A new security plan was executed in West Beirut. The army and the Internal Security Forces were controlling the public order, with the help of the Amal-PSP military police.

Saturday, 28 December 1985

111101 entry in the original chronology

The Lebanese Forces, the PSP and Amal signed an agreement in Damascus, putting an end to the Lebanese war.
The year ended with some hope for the Lebanese, following the signature of the tripartite agreement, while the economy was agonizing and hundreds of Lebanese and foreign hostages were living in horrifying daily conditions.

What the books addSigned in Damascus by Elie Hobeika (Lebanese Forces), Nabih Berri (Amal) and Walid Jumblatt (PSP) under Syrian sponsorship. It provided for Christian-Muslim parity during a transition towards the end of political sectarianism, a stronger prime minister and cabinet, a senate, and 'strategic complementarity' with Syria. It did not end the war: President Gemayel refused it and, in January 1986, Samir Geagea's forces drove Hobeika out of East Beirut. Its provisions were largely taken up in the Taif Agreement of 1989.

1985: day not established

early January 1985

Added from the books

Lists of alleged collaborators are posted in Tyre.
The 'Lebanese National Resistance' claimed to have killed 15 collaborators by 11 January; around Tyre, lists naming 60 alleged informers for the Israelis had appeared in the first week of the month.

February 1985

Added from the books

Hezbollah makes its existence public with an 'Open Letter'.
Hezbollah, formed in secret in 1982, came into the open with an 'Open Letter' setting out its programme, addressed 'to the deprived of Lebanon and the world'. It demanded Israel's final expulsion from Lebanon and the departure of the United States and France.

Sources differ: The Confluences article is by the same authors as Le Liban en guerre, so it is not independent confirmation.

mid February 1985

Added from the books

Israel's best-known informer in Sidon flees by sea.
With Israel about to leave Sidon, its most notorious collaborator, 'Abu Arida', put to sea in mid-February with two dozen of his men. Early in the month others had been told their Israeli protection was over.

February 1985

Added from the books

Israel applies its 'iron fist' policy in the south (February-June).
When guerrillas struck again after the pull-out from Sidon, Israel hit Shia villages with large raids, mass arrests, curfews and demolitions, until it withdrew to the 'security zone' in June.

Sources differ: Picard calls it 'Operation Iron Hand'; Fisk the 'iron fist'.

March 1985

Added from the books

Dutch Jesuit Nicolas Kluiters is kidnapped and killed in the Bekaa.
Nicolas Kluiters, a Dutch Jesuit missionary, was seized by kidnappers in the Bekaa, who tortured and killed him.

mid March 1985

Added from the books

A suicide car bomb kills 12 Israeli soldiers near Marjayoun.
A suicide car bomb killed 12 soldiers in an Israeli convoy above Marjayoun. Israel's reprisal fell on Zrariyeh (entry of 11 March).

Sources differ: Fisk places the attack after the Beirut bombing he dates to 9 March; the original entry dates the Zrariyeh reprisal to 11 March.

April 1985

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).

late April 1985

Added from the books

The Druze take Jiyeh; a well full of bodies is found.
The Druze, who captured Phalange-held Jiyeh at the end of April, blew up its Maronite church about a week after journalists had been shown a well full of corpses beside it, and later flattened the Christian houses.

June 1985

Added from the books

CIA station chief William Buckley dies in captivity.
William Buckley, head of the CIA station in Beirut, kidnapped in March 1984, died in captivity.

June 1985

Added from the books

First clashes between Amal and the PSP in West Beirut.
Selim al-Hoss called on every militia to quit the city, and most Sunnis in inner West Beirut struck, as Amal and Jumblatt's PSP, allies in 1984, fought for West Beirut; late in the month the Sixth Brigade joined in.

mid June 1985

Added from the books

The Arab League demands an end to the siege of the camps.
Iran offered mediation, and the Arab League urged an end to Amal's siege of the Palestinian camps.

June 1985

Added from the books

Syrian 'observers' are posted in West Beirut.
Syrian officers, absent from West Beirut since 1982, came back to monitor the ceasefire between its militias.

Sources differ: Picard dates the first observers to June 1985; Hanf to August.

June 1985

Added from the books

Photographer Alfred Yaghobzadeh is kidnapped during the TWA crisis.
The Iranian embassy ordered Alfred Yaghobzadeh freed after 60 days of talks; Hezbollah gunmen had seized the Iranian Christian, photographing the TWA hijacking for France's SIPA, outside his West Beirut hotel.

July 1985

Added from the books

Vatican mission of Cardinal Etchegaray to Lebanon.
Cardinal Roger Etchegaray led one of the Holy See's mediation missions to Lebanon.

September 1985

Added from the books

Karami and al-Hoss ask Syria to send troops back to West Beirut.
Unidentified Shia groups attacked SSNP and Communist Party offices as residents struck again against militia disorder. Prime Minister Rashid Karami and Minister Selim al-Hoss first asked Damascus to redeploy troops in West Beirut.

September 1985

Added from the books

Pro-Syrian forces attack the Tawheed movement in Tripoli.
Sheikh Said Shaaban's Tawheed, then in control of Tripoli, was attacked by Alawite, Communist, Baathist and SSNP forces. Roughly 250,000 civilians fled.