lebanese war
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1975/1990
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109 news for the 8th, 24th, 30th of every month

with the books

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January 30, 1975thursday
15,000 persons demonstrated in Beirut to express their solidarity with South Lebanon, which had been regularly bombed by Israel.

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Traboulsi counts this among the early-1975 protests, a southern general strike and Beirut demonstrations, over the Palestinian presence and the south's defence.

September 30, 1975tuesday
A Tupolev 154 belonging to the Hungarian company Malev exploded in the air at 10 kilometers from Beirut, killing 60 persons, 34 of which were Lebanese.

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January 30, 1976friday
While the normalization process continued, the Superior Military Committee decided to dispatch the Lebanese Army to Damour, Mkalles, and Dbayeh, as well as to the road leading to the Beirut International Airport.

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January 30, 1976friday
Lieutenant Ahmed Khatib left the Hasbaya barracks and announced the creation, in the Bekaa, of the Army of Arab Lebanon.

\_this day in full the books also date it 21 January 1976, 22 January 1976 \_on this day

\_what the books add

Historians date Lieutenant Ahmad al-Khatib's breakaway to 21 January (de Clerck and Malsagne, in the Bekaa) or 22 January (Julie Tegho Bou Nassif, from the diary of the Greek Catholic bishop of Zahleh); Hanf places the mutiny in the south. About 300-400 Muslim soldiers followed him at first. The entry of 30 January may record a later step.

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

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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.

May 30, 1976sunday
An avalanche of missiles and shells hit Beirut while combats continued on all fronts. The bombings reached the airport, imposing the closure of runways to air traffic at night.

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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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January 24, 1977monday
The Government created an economic and social orientation body, called the Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR).

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Its unprecedented powers spanned planning, funding and running reconstruction. It replaced the Planning Ministry in 1977; Picard calls it the economy's 'superministry'.

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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June 30, 1977thursday
On the last day of its full-powers, the Council of Ministers published a series of decree-laws. The most important ones stipulated the revision of certain laws relative to the Lebanese University, the amendment of some press censorship laws, and the adoption of the mandatory car insurance.

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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 24, 1977sunday
340 tourists made a brief stopover in Beirut. The Sol Phryne, a boat achieving a Mediterranean cruise, made a stopover in Beirut and its 340 passengers visited the capital for a few hours.

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July 30, 1977saturday
The Arab Strike Force deployed around the camps in Beirut, Tripoli, Saida and in the Bekaa region.

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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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January 24, 1978tuesday
The Lebanese Front was alarmed : armaments were unloaded in Tyr.

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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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March 30, 1978thursday
A little bit of cheerfulness in the midst of despair ! The Boney M gave a flamboyant show to a heartbroken Lebanese audience.

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May 24, 1978wednesday
The PLO committed, in an official press release, to stop all military activities in South Lebanon and facilitate the UNIFL's task, in order to reestablish the Lebanese sovereignty in this region.

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August 24, 1978thursday
The situation deteriorated suddenly in the North.
Eight persons were killed and 10 others wounded in an ambush between the Cazas of Koura and Batroun. The situation worsened on August 25. The Arab Strike Force launched a raking operation. Fights resulted in 20 deaths and did not end until August 26. The Arab Strike Force now controls all the region of Batroun while the Phalangists are settled in Jbeil.

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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.

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 24, 1979saturday
While Hoss was claiming the revision of the taking over operation, arguing that there are not enough soldiers nor material, combats were raging in the Batroun region between the Phalange Party and the Marada, followers of President Frangieh.

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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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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 30, 1979saturday
The 'race for peace' organized by the Lebanese Federation of Athletics under the patronage of L'orient-Le Jour was a manifestation of the Lebanese sportsmen in favor of national unity. Departed from Achrafieh, the 66 participants representing 18 clubs from all the Lebanese regions met in Manara after having crossed the Fouad Chehab Ring.

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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 30, 1980wednesday
The situation worsened in Ehmej. Some sources reported 4 dead and 10 injured persons.

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See the note on the entry of 25 January 1980.

February 24, 1980sunday
Selim Laouzi, owner of the Hawadess, a local newspaper, was kidnapped on the Beirut International Airport road. The kidnapping of this eminent figure of the Lebanese press provoked strong emotions in the political environment and the Editors Syndicate decided to call for a strike.

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Officially no killer was named, but al-Lawzi's murder was widely blamed on his criticism of Syrian rule (Fisk; Picard). Fisk: he was seized near a Syrian army checkpoint heading for the airport.

April 24, 1980thursday
The Security Council adopted a resolution condemning the Israeli military intervention in Lebanon and the de facto alliance between Israel and Saad Haddad's militia. Washington suggested the creation of a special commission in charge of finding a final settlement in South Lebanon.

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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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June 30, 1980monday
The Israelis attacked a base belonging to the Arab Liberation Front in Kasmieh. This operation killed 11 persons and injured 29 others.

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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 30, 1980wednesday
The nightmare continued. A car bomb exploded in a busy street of Achrafieh killing three persons and wounding 15 others.

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August 24, 1980sunday
5 persons were killed and 35 others wounded by a car bomb explosion in front of a coffee shop in Reyfoun.

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August 24, 1980sunday
An air combat took place over South Lebanon between Syrian Migs and Israeli airplanes. A Syrian plane crashed next to Jbaa.

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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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