lebanese war
chronology
1975/1990
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85 news for the 21st, 27th of every month

with the books

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January 27, 1975monday
After stormy debates and demonstrations, most schools reopened their doors.

\_this day in full \_on this day

September 21, 1975sunday
Bread, flour, gas, and meat became scarce in Beirut while snipers spread terror.

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\_what the books add

De Clerck and Malsagne date the start of bread rationing to September 1975.

October 21, 1975tuesday
Kamal El Assad was reelected president of the Chamber by 47 votes against one. At the same time, Beirut was still under fire and the list of victims, whether kidnapped, executed, or shot by snipers or mortar shells, kept growing.

\_this day in full the books also date it 20 October 1975 \_on this day

October 27, 1975monday
The Murr tower was occupied by the Mourabitun, and the Holliday Inn-Phoenicia region was held by the Phalange Party.

\_this day in full the books also date it 20 October 1975 \_on this day

\_what the books add

Begun in late October 1975 (20 October in de Clerck and Malsagne's chronology), the Battle of the Hotels ran for five months, ending when the Holiday Inn fell on 20-22 March 1976. Traboulsi links its launch to Black Saturday in December.

January 21, 1976wednesday
Sabri Hamadeh died.
Sabri Hamadeh, a legendary figure on the Lebanese political scene and an independence hero, died from a heart attack. He was 74 years old. He was born in 1902 in the Hermel and entered the political arena very early. In 1925, he was elected for the first time deputy of the Hermel. His mandate was renewed several times. In 1944, he became President of the Parliament. In addition, he had been repeatedly vice-president of the Council, as well as Minister of Interior and Minister of Public Works and Transportation. He was titular of several honorific distinctions such as the great cordon of the National Order of the Cedar.

\_this day in full \_on this day

March 21, 1976sunday
The ' Holiday Inn ' occupied by the Phalange Party fell in the hands of the Mourabitun and their allies.
According to some sources, the Phalange Party succeeded in evacuating some of its militiamen who took with them seven dead bodies, three of which were young girls. According to other sources, 65 militiamen were able to run away using an underground passage. The Holiday Inn had been subject to repeated assaults for the past ten months.

\_this day in full the books also date it 20 March 1976, 22 March 1976 \_on this day

\_what the books add

Mourabitoun and Palestinian fighters, backed by Lebanese Arab Army artillery, took the 24-storey Holiday Inn after a fight waged floor by floor, day and night, from 20 to 22 March 1976 (Traboulsi dates the fall to 22 March). The Kataeb withdrew to the Fattal building near the port. The five-month Battle of the Hotels was over, and Beirut was split along the Green Line.

May 27, 1976thursday
Linda Joumblatt, Kamal Joumblatt's 55 years old sister, was cowardly assassinated in her home in Beirut. A group of armed men broke into her apartment and opened fire on her. She was killed while her daughters Nouha, 28 years old, and Samar, 18 years old were injured.

\_this day in full the books also date it 2 June 1976 \_on this day

\_what the books add

On 2 June Bashir Gemayel, having asked for a secret meeting with Kamal Jumblatt, offered him condolences and information on who had killed her. Traboulsi names her Linda al-Atrash and puts her apartment in East Beirut.

June 21, 1976monday
The first contingent of the Arab Peace Force arrived to Beirut.

\_this day in full \_on this day

\_what the books add

Sudan supplied the Arab peace force's first contingent, some 2,000 men, and Libya the next (Hanf).

June 27, 1976sunday
The Beirut International Airport was heavily bombed. An MEA Boeing 707 caught fire on the runway. The airplane's pilot died in the accident.

\_this day in full \_on this day

June 27, 1976sunday
The Phalange Party, the NLP, and the Guardians of the Cedar launched the 'Camps Battle'.

\_this day in full the books also date it 22 June 1976 \_on this day

\_what the books add

Yara El Khoury dates the start of the final offensive on Jisr al-Basha and Tal al-Za'tar to 22 June 1976, and Hanf's account (Jisr al-Basha stormed eight days after the first assault, on 1 July) points to the same week. The camps had been blockaded since January. Hanf says Chamoun's Tigers and Christian units of the army led the attack, the Kataeb joining later; a joint command of Bashir Gemayel (Kataeb), Dany Chamoun and Nabil Karam (NLP), Fawzi Mahfouz (Tanzim) and Etienne Saqr (Guardians of the Cedar) coordinated it (de Clerck and Malsagne).

November 21, 1976sunday
The President addressed a message to the Nation.
In a vibrant call to the Nation at the occasion of Independence Day on the 22nd of November, the President of the Republic called all Lebanese to unite around him in order to build a new Lebanon. He declared that he was sure Lebanon would put up with the challenge caused by the crisis. The President underlined the need for an absolute preservation of security, paying homage to the role played by the Arab Dissuasion Force. The President spoke mainly in his speech about the reconstruction efforts and the boosting of the economy. He also expressed his wish to see neighboring countries assist Lebanon by providing the necessary assistance and facilities.

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March 27, 1977sunday
The Arab League decided to renew the mandate of the Arab Strike Force for another six months.

\_this day in full the books also date it 18 October 1976 \_on this day

\_what the books add

The force is usually called the Arab Deterrent Force (ADF) in English.

March 27, 1977sunday
A powerful plastic charge, deposited in the elevator of the Minister of Defense, Fouad Boutros, exploded destroying the upper floor of the apartment.

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\_what the books add

The bombing came the evening the government chose a new army commander, a change arranged by Boutros, who held foreign affairs and defence, and regarded by the Christian parties as cause for war.

July 21, 1977thursday
The ' technical Palestinian-Syrian-Lebanese committee ' met in Chtaura, trying to put an end to the hostilities in South Lebanon and find a settlement for the Palestinian armed presence in the country, as suggested by the Cairo agreement. This meeting was the first between Lebanese, Syrians, and Palestinians since fights stopped last November. It resulted from the recent meetings between leaders of these three countries.

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August 27, 1977saturday
Although the collection of heavy arms was achieved, the Lebanese Front issued a press release, following the Ehden conference, emphasizing ' the necessity of spreading out Palestinians residing in Lebanon over the countries belonging to the Arab League.'

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\_what the books add

Hanf records that Damascus rejected the Lebanese Front's demands of May 1977: annulment of the Cairo Agreement and dispersal among other Arab states of the 200,000 Palestinians its leaders regarded as illegal entrants.

February 27, 1978monday
Diverse shows were scheduled in Lebanon. 'We Belnesba la bokra chou?' by Ziad Rahbani was a triumph at the Orly Theater.

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\_what the books add

De Clerck and Malsagne and Haugbolle list this 1978 play first among Ziad Rahbani's comedies, which satirised the war from West Beirut.

March 27, 1978monday
' The 'National parliamentary gathering', a Shiite block, was created under the presidency of Kamel El Assaad.

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November 21, 1978tuesday
President Sarkis called for an understanding.

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March 21, 1979wednesday
Thousands of women demonstrated in the southern suburbs.
A feminine walk was taking place in Furn el Chebbak and Ain el Remmaneh to celebrate mother's day and the international year of the child. Demonstrators brandished banners claiming, among other things, security in the Southern suburbs, an army presence, the return of displaced persons, the indemnification of bombardment victims, and reconstruction loans.

\_this day in full \_on this day

April 21, 1979saturday
The United States reaffirmed through their ambassador in Lebanon, their support to President Elias Sarkis and considered Saad Haddad and his men as rebels.

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June 21, 1979thursday
Violent combats with heavy armaments opposed the Lebanese army and the Arab Strike Force at the jurd of Akoura killing 7 Lebanese and injuring 19 persons, 13 of which were militiamen.

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June 21, 1979thursday
Elias IV, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and the Orient died.

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June 27, 1979wednesday
Syrians and Israelis faced each other in the sky of Damour. Four Syrian Migs were shut down. At the Southern border, shelling continued between Progressive Palestinians on one side and the militia of Saad Haddad and Israel on the other.

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July 21, 1979saturday
At Mont La Salle, many fans applauded Joe Dassin, the baladin-poete.

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August 21, 1979tuesday
A deluge of fire fell on Tyr and Nabatyeh and hit a religious monastery causing 4 deaths and 28 injuries. The shelling was extended to the borders of Saida and Jezzine.

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October 27, 1979saturday
A car bomb exploded in basta, next to the office of the Army of Arabic Lebanon provoking 8 deaths and 32 injuries. The attack was followed by a strike in West Beirut.

\_this day in full the books also date it 22 April 1979 \_on this day

January 21, 1980monday
The Lebanese army projected to deploy in South Lebanon while Israel was strongly opposed to this project.

\_this day in full the books also date it 20 March 1980 \_on this day

\_what the books add

Deploying the army, Sarkis insisted on his return from an Arab meeting at Ta'if in February 1980, should come before political reform (Traboulsi). Amal and the Phalange newspaper al-Amal also called for the army to be sent south (Traboulsi; Hanf).

May 27, 1980tuesday
Violent confrontations burst between Shiite militiamen from Amal and a coalition including the Communist Party and the Resistance. The confrontations lasted three days, claiming a big number of victims. The Arab Strike Force mediated between the belligerent parties. A normalization and demilitarization agreement was signed in Damascus with the participation of the PLO.

\_this day in full \_on this day

\_what the books add

De Clerck and Malsagne list Amal's opponents once Nabih Berri led it, from 1980: the Communist Party, the Communist Action Organisation, the Iraqi Baath, Fatah and the Army of Arab Lebanon. Traboulsi notes frequent fighting between Amal and the Palestinian groups and National Movement up to June 1982.

July 21, 1980monday
Charles Rizk, President of Télé-Liban's Board of Directors, was kidnapped from his home. He was released a few hours later. He presented immediately his resignation to the President of the Republic. The employees at Télé-Liban responded by launching an open strike.

\_this day in full \_on this day

August 27, 1980wednesday
The US ambassador, John Gunther Dean, escaped from a killing attempt in Hazmieh. Killers shot his armored car.

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\_what the books add

Ménargues: the attack was claimed by telephone to Reuters by an unheard-of 'Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners'. Investigators found the discarded tube of a US-made LAW anti-tank rocket, a type Israel says it passed to the Christian militias in 1976. Bashir Gemayel's own inquiry blamed the National Liberal (Ahrar) leader Elias Hannouche, whose aim was to discredit the Lebanese Forces.

October 27, 1980monday
The Phalange Party and the NLP fought in Ain el Remmaneh. Camille Chamoun threatened to withdraw from the Lebanese Front.

\_this day in full the books also date it 31 October 1980, 28 November 1980 \_on this day

\_what the books add

The National Liberal holdouts in Ain el-Remmaneh were led by Elias Hannouche ('Hannache'). Hanf and de Clerck and Malsagne place the end of their autonomy in late October 1980 (de Clerck: Lebanese Forces in control of East Beirut on 31 October); Ménargues dates the decisive Lebanese Forces assault to the second half of November. There may have been two rounds.

December 21, 1980sunday
The situation worsened in Zahleh under heavy bombardments. These confrontations between Zahliotes and soldiers from the Arab Strike Force continued until December 26 when a cease-fire eased the tension.

\_this day in full the books also date it 20 December 1980, 22 December 1980 \_on this day

\_what the books add

The crisis began on 20 December when Elias Hannouche, a former Tiger commander backed by Syria, seized the old National Liberal office in Zahle. After an ambush inside the town killed five Syrian soldiers on 22 December, Syrian artillery opened fire on it (Ménargues; Hanf counts an officer and five soldiers). De Clerck and Malsagne date the bombardment to 21 December and call it the first round of the battle of Zahle. Most of the former Tigers then joined the Lebanese Forces, and Syrian troops stayed positioned around the town until the siege of spring 1981.

January 21, 1981wednesday
20,000 displaced persons from Damour participated in a peaceful walk towards the presidential palace to claim their return home.

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April 27, 1981monday
Residential areas in Beirut were the target of sporadic bombardments that killed six persons and injured 90 others.

\_this day in full \_on this day

July 21, 1981tuesday
While the bombardment continued in South Lebanon, the Security Council ordered a cease-fire; but the latter wasn't observed despite the presence of the US envoy Philip Habib in the region.

\_this day in full the books also date it 22 July 1981 \_on this day

\_what the books add

Ménargues dates to 22 July Reagan's indefinite freeze on F-16 deliveries to Israel and a unanimous Security Council call for an immediate cease-fire, which Arafat accepted at once.

July 27, 1981monday
The EDL started an electricity rationing program. There was a bad shortage of fuel due to the Israeli bombardment of the Zahrani oil refinery.

\_this day in full \_on this day

August 21, 1981friday
The infernal bombardment cycle resumed. A bomb storm fell on Achrafieh and Basta, killing 3 persons, injuring 45 and destroying what was left to be destroyed.

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September 21, 1981monday
A car bomb in Hamra and an attack in Tripoli proved that horror was still haunting Lebanon. It seemed that it would never end.

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November 27, 1981friday
Gerard Lenorman performed his famous song La ballade des gens heureux at the Casino du Liban in front of a public that still wanted to believe in happiness.

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February 27, 1982saturday
The explosion of a car bomb killed 4 persons and wounded 26 others in Ouzaï.

\_this day in full \_on this day

\_what the books add

De Clerck and Malsagne, drawing on Ronen Bergman, attribute to Ariel Sharon a series of car bombings from October 1981, carried out under the name 'Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners' and aimed chiefly at Palestinians, to provoke retaliation that could justify an invasion. They list no individual attacks, so this bombing cannot be matched to their account.

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