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Lebanese war chronology - 1985

January 1, 1985 tuesday		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.
January 3, 1985 thursday		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.
January 4, 1985 friday		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.
January 6, 1985 sunday		The 12th round of the Israeli-Lebanese negotiations in Nakoura started.
January 8, 1985 tuesday		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.
January 11, 1985 friday		A bomb exploded in Mazraa in front of the Bank of Beirut and the Arab Countries, killing 3 persons and wounding 31 others.
January 12, 1985 satruday		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.
January 14, 1985 monday		The Israeli government decided to withdraw its army from South Lebanon progressively.
January 19, 1985 satruday		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.
January 21, 1985 monday		Moustapha Saad, leader of the Nasserist Popular Organization, was seriously wounded in Saida by a car bomb that killed his daughter.
January 24, 1985 thursday		The negotiations in Nakoura were suspended sine die after the two parties refused to moderate their positions.
January 26, 1985 satruday		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.
February 1, 1985 friday		An assault against a mosque in Tripoli caused eight deaths and 66 injuries.
February 4, 1985 monday		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.
February 7, 1985 thursday		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.
February 17, 1985 sunday		The army made a triumphal entrance in Saida. The transition was smooth and no incident followed the Israeli departure.
February 17, 1985 sunday		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.
February 23, 1985 satruday		A security inspector hijacked a Beirut-Paris MEA flight. A passenger was killed and 13 others were injured. The hijacker had wage claims.
March 4, 1985 monday		A bomb attack against the Husseiniyeh in Maarakeh killed 11 persons, including two leaders of the Amal movement, and wounded 28 others.
March 6, 1985 wednesday		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.
March 8, 1985 friday		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.
March 9, 1985 satruday		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.
March 11, 1985 monday		The Israelis attacked Zrariyeh claiming tens of victims and huge destructions. Many persons were also arrested.
March 12, 1985 tuesday		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.
March 16, 1985 satruday		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.
March 19, 1985 tuesday		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.
March 22, 1985 friday		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.
April 1, 1985 monday		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.
April 11, 1985 thursday		The Israelis left Nabatyeh, followed by the Resistance.
April 16, 1985 tuesday		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.
April 24, 1985 wednesday		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.
April 26, 1985 friday		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.
April 29, 1985 monday		The Israelis withdrew from Tyr and the Lebanese army replaced them.
April 30, 1985 tuesday		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.
May 2, 1985 thursday		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.
May 7, 1985 tuesday		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.
May 9, 1985 thursday		The executive committee of the Lebanese Forces elected Elie Hobeika president and Samir Geagea chief of staff.
May 11, 1985 satruday		In a message addressed to the United Nations, John Paul II begged: 'Do not abandon Lebanon.'
May 20, 1985 monday		After 20 hours of ferocious combats, Amal and the sixth brigade took control of the Palestinian camps.
May 22, 1985 wednesday		A car bomb spread terror in Sin El Fil, killing 30 persons and wounding 172 others. Tens of houses and stores were also destroyed.
May 28, 1985 tuesday		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.
June 6, 1985 thursday		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.
June 11, 1985 tuesday		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.
June 14, 1985 friday		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.
June 17, 1985 monday		The Damascus agreement put an end to the Camps War that caused, in four weeks, 700 deaths and 2,500 injured.
June 20, 1985 thursday		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.
June 27, 1985 thursday		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.
July 1, 1985 monday		Following the hostages' crisis, Washington called for the boycott of the Beirut International Airport.
July 9, 1985 tuesday		An agreement between all Moslem leaders was concluded in Damascus to pacify West Beirut, while fights were raging in Tripoli.
July 10, 1985 wednesday		An Israeli raid on the camps of Nahr El Bared and Beddaoui caused 15 deaths and 50 wounded.
July 30, 1985 tuesday		Syria delivered 46 tanks to the Amal movement while surprise bombardments continued in Beirut and civilians were still being kidnapped on the crossing points.
July 31, 1985 wednesday		President Sleiman Frangieh and Elie Hobeika were reconciled.
August 2, 1985 friday		The Israeli aviation destroyed the headquarters of the Syrian Nationalist Party in Chtaura after the multiplication of car bombs in South Lebanon.
August 6, 1985 tuesday		The Front of National Unity, a coalition of West Beirut parties, created a month earlier in Damascus, was born.
August 11, 1985 sunday		Greater Beirut was violently bombarded with heavy artillery. Sixteen civilians were killed and 60 others were wounded.
August 14, 1985 wednesday		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.
August 17, 1985 satruday		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.
August 19, 1985 monday		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.
August 20, 1985 tuesday		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.
August 21, 1985 wednesday		The bombings destroyed two MEA airplanes. The Beirut International Airport was closed to traffic.
August 23, 1985 friday		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.
August 27, 1985 tuesday		Tens of persons were kidnapped at crossing points. Amal and the Lebanese Forces exchanged 22 hostages on August 29.
August 30, 1985 friday		The Lebanese Forces ended their military presence in Zahleh and closed their offices in the town.
September 3, 1985 tuesday		Beirut was cut into two. There were severe shortages of bread and gas.
September 4, 1985 wednesday		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.
September 5, 1985 thursday		Violent combats opposed Amal and the PSP in West Beirut.
September 10, 1985 tuesday		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.
September 12, 1985 thursday		An isolated incident degenerated into confrontations between the Lebanese Forces militiamen in the Eastern neighborhoods.
September 16, 1985 monday		In Tripoli, ten soldiers from the Lebanese Army were killed and 35 others wounded by shells that fell on the Bahjat Ghanem barracks.
September 18, 1985 wednesday		Presidents Chamoun, Frangieh, and Helou met in Smar-Jbeil in order to launch wide Christian sittings.
September 24, 1985 tuesday		A first Lebanese Forces-Amal-PSP meeting was held in Damascus.
September 28, 1985 satruday		Another dramatic day in Beirut and its surroundings where artillerymen killed 32 persons and wounded 76 others.
September 29, 1985 sunday		The Beirut International Airport was bombed and some installations were destroyed.
September 30, 1985 monday		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.
October 12, 1985 satruday		The kidnappings continued in Beirut.
October 19, 1985 satruday		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.
October 28, 1985 monday		As part of the reconciliation efforts between the Lebanese Forces and Damascus, Syria released 31 Lebanese Forces militiamen.
October 28, 1985 monday		Saida's Antiquities Service discovered interesting archeological vestiges in limited excavations in the region of Hlaliyeh.
November 10, 1985 sunday		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.
November 13, 1985 wednesday		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.
November 16, 1985 satruday		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.
November 19, 1985 tuesday		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.
November 20 to 24, 1985 Notice: Undefined index: 3,0 in /home/customer/www/111101.net/public_html/facts/history/chronology/phase.php on line 159		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.
December 3, 1985 tuesday		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.
December 11, 1985 wednesday		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.
December 28, 1985 satruday		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.

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