lebanese war
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1975/1990
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88 news for the 8th, 21st of every month

with the books

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

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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

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.

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March 8, 1976monday
Khatib's men occupied the strategic bolt of Arnoun.

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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 8, 1976saturday
Elias Sarkis, the 52 years old Central Bank Governor, was elected President of the Republic at the second ballot by a majority of 66 votes out of 69 attending deputies. The election took place in a tense atmosphere at the villa Esseily-Hussein Mansour, which was turned into a temporary Parliament around which mortar shells were falling. Lebanese leftist parties were opposed to the elections.

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Hanf and Ménargues count 66 votes for Sarkis out of 69 cast; de Clerck and Malsagne give 70. National Movement and PLO mortars fired as deputies, escorted by Saiqa, PLA or Syrian troops, met at the Villa Mansour on the demarcation line. Votes were reportedly bought, by Syria (de Clerck and Malsagne) or with Saudi and CIA money (Traboulsi). Sarkis was sworn in only on 23 September.

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

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

July 8, 1976thursday
The leftists opened new fronts in the port and business districts, hoping to draw the rightists away from Tel El Zaatar, but the assaults were quickly repulsed by local defenders.

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October 8, 1976friday
The Arab League's representative in Lebanon, Hassam Sabri Kholi, announced that the four-party commission (Syria, Lebanon, PLO, Arab League) will meet starting October 9 in Chtaura to study the measures to be taken to end the combats in Lebanon and execute the Lebanese-Palestinian Cairo agreement.

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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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February 8, 1977tuesday
Kurt Waldheim, Secretary General of the United Nations, arrived to Beirut. He declared that the United Nations would substantially help Lebanon and that the future of this country was closely linked the comprehensive solution in the Middle East.

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July 8, 1977friday
An armed group took control of a Boeing connecting Beirut to Kuwait.
Twelve armed men highjacked a Boeing 707 belonging to the Kuwait Airways company. 45 passengers, including the Kuwaiti ambassador in Lebanon and ten crewmembers, were on board. The highjackers claimed the liberation of 300 persons detained in six Arab countries. The next day, they set the hostages free and surrendered to the authorities

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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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September 8, 1977thursday
The Secretary General of the United Nations, Kurt Waldheim called upon all conflicting parties in Southern Lebanon urging them to fully participate in the efforts aiming at reaching a cease-fire in the region.

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March 8, 1978wednesday
The US government agreed on granting Lebanon an agricultural loan of the amount of 8,800,000 dollars.

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October 8, 1978sunday
Residents of Achrafieh stepped out of their shelters only to realize the magnitude of the damages. Despite the respect of the cease-fire agreed upon by Presidents Elias Sarkis and Hafez Assad, the region was still under blockade.

\_this day in full the books also date it 7 October 1978 \_on this day

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De Clerck and Malsagne date the end of the shelling to 7 October. On that day President Sarkis asked in public for the Arab Deterrent Force's mandate, due to lapse on 28 October, to be extended, and Syria maintained its blockade until the renewal.

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

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December 8, 1978friday
A serious incident was reported in Jounieh.
A Phalangist leader, Elie Hobeika, was arrested at an army checkpoint in Nahr el Kalb. The incident degenerated into fights and the entire region flared up. A helicopter transporting Saudi and Kuwaiti ambassadors and flying over the region was hit by submachine-gun shots. The Saudi ambassador was injured.

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Ménargues writes that when the Moukafaha, Johnny Abdo's own intervention unit, arrested Elie Hobeika for allegedly having the Saudi ambassador's helicopter fired on, Bashir Gemayel had about a hundred army officers abducted; they were traded for Hobeika three weeks later.

January 8, 1979monday
The bad weather provoked considerable damages.
Following strong showers during the weekend in the North, landslides made several routes impracticable whereas, for the first time in twenty years, a flood was reported in Nahr El Kebir, which constitutes the Northern frontier between Lebanon and Syria. The El Arida metallic bridge collapsed.

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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.

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April 8, 1979sunday
The United Arab Emirates called back their "Green Helmets". Syria was the only country running for the next Arabic Strike Force mandate.

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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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May 8, 1979tuesday
Power cuts became more and more frequent in the country. The Director of the Electricité du Liban recommended to the population to save power.

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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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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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September 8, 1979saturday
Dalida fascinated her fans at the Piccadilly. September 11
A confrontation between the Phalangists and the Tachnag (Armenian militia) caused 24 dead, 30 wounded and 40 hostages in Nabaa and Bourj Hammoud.

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Dalida also sang at the new Summerland hotel in Jnah in September 1979 (de Clerck and Malsagne). The Kataeb-Tashnag clashes of 11 September belong to a series: Hanf records hostilities in May and September 1979, settled amicably; de Clerck and Malsagne date fighting to November; Traboulsi says that in 1978-1979 the Phalange and Chamoun's Tigers gradually subdued the Armenian militias, which would not pay them taxes.

October 8, 1979monday
Phalangist armed elements set up a surprise checkpoint in Ainata, the road leading to the Cedars, and took 70 hostages from Zghorta. The Marada retaliated by taking 230 hostages that were released on October 12, following a call launched by Pope John Paul II.

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De Clerck and Malsagne put October 1979 abductions in the North at 500 to 1,000 people.

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 8, 1980thursday
A seaside resort called 'Bella Mar' collapsed while still under construction. Eight persons lost their lives in the accident.

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July 8, 1980tuesday
Phalangist militiamen launched an assault against all the NLP's offices and barracks in Achrafieh, on the coast, in Jbeil, in the Kesrouan, and in the Metn. The most murderous combats took place in Acharfieh, Amchit, and especially Safra where the domicile of the NLP defense secretary, Dany Chamoun, was burned. Chamoun's daughter was injured. He flew to Fakra and announced his resignation. The Phalangists continued their attack and reached Fakra where they dynamited Chamoun's home. He flew again to Baskinta. He went back later to Yarze on board of an army helicopter, along with Amine Gemayel. The Phalange Party controlled therefore all NLP's offices and barracks.

\_this day in full the books also date it 7 July 1980 \_on this day

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Historians date the assault to 7 July 1980 (Ménargues, de Clerck and Malsagne, Hanf, Traboulsi, Picard). At dawn Bashir Gemayel's units struck National Liberal offices and barracks throughout the Christian region, the Safra Marine resort north of Jounieh among them, under strict orders to spare Camille and Dany Chamoun and their families. That evening he proposed merging the militias into the Lebanese Forces under his command; Dany Chamoun left for exile the next day. Estimates of the dead range from about 70 (Ménargues) to 150-200, mostly civilians (Traboulsi; de Clerck and Malsagne give about 150, including 83 Tigers). Ménargues says Bashir code-named the operation 'Altalena'.

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.

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October 8, 1980wednesday
Terrorist actions were on the rise. Explosions ravaged the 'Alia' offices and the apartment of the Swiss ambassador.

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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 8, 1981thursday
The Arab Strike Force withdrew from Zahleh.

\_this day in full the books also date it 22 December 1980, 2 April 1981 \_on this day

\_what the books add

After the December 1980 clashes in Zahleh, Syrian troops gave up their checkpoints inside the town but kept it under blockade (Hanf). Ménargues, however, says ADF checkpoints were still on the town's main roads when Lebanese Forces fighters seized them in the first days of April 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 8, 1981wednesday
A shell storm fell on East Beirut particularly in Badaro, Ain El Remmaneh and Chyah. Several bombs hit H™tel-Dieu leaving important damages.

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May 8, 1981friday
The American envoy Philip Habib began his talks at the Baabda Palace.

\_this day in full the books also date it 4 May 1981 \_on this day

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Ménargues writes that Habib came from Damascus by road on the evening of 7 May, Beirut airport being closed. De Clerck and Malsagne date Reagan's dispatch of Habib to 4 May.

June 8, 1981monday
The Arab Vigilance Committee, ending its meetings in Beiteddine, took note of all the parties' commitment to respect the cease-fire on the Lebanese territory. On the other hand, the Committee announced that it would meet again on June 23 in Saudi Arabia and on July 4 in Beiteddine.

\_this day in full the books also date it 4 June 1981 \_on this day

\_what the books add

The meeting was called after Begin told the Knesset on 4 June of his promises to Lebanon's Christians. The Arab envoys asked Bashir Gemayel to break with Israel; he demanded guarantees in return (Hanf, Ménargues).

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