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18 news for April, September 1985

with the books
April 1, 1985monday
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.

\_this day in full the books also date it 24 April 1985 \_on this day

April 11, 1985thursday
The Israelis left Nabatyeh, followed by the Resistance.

\_this day in full \_on this day

April 16, 1985tuesday
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.

\_this day in full \_on this day

\_what the books add

These 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.

April 24, 1985wednesday
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.

\_this day in full \_on this day

\_what the books add

Hanf: 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.

April 26, 1985friday
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.

\_this day in full the books also date it 24 April 1985 \_on this day

\_what the books add

About 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.

April 29, 1985monday
The Israelis withdrew from Tyr and the Lebanese army replaced them.

\_this day in full \_on this day

\_what the books add

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

April 30, 1985tuesday
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.

\_this day in full \_on this day

\_what the books add

Israeli 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.

September 3, 1985tuesday
Beirut was cut into two. There were severe shortages of bread and gas.

\_this day in full \_on this day

September 4, 1985wednesday
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.

\_this day in full the books also date it 11 August 1985 \_on this day

\_what the books add

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

September 5, 1985thursday
Violent combats opposed Amal and the PSP in West Beirut.

\_this day in full \_on this day

September 10, 1985tuesday
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.

\_this day in full \_on this day

September 12, 1985thursday
An isolated incident degenerated into confrontations between the Lebanese Forces militiamen in the Eastern neighborhoods.

\_this day in full \_on this day

September 16, 1985monday
In Tripoli, ten soldiers from the Lebanese Army were killed and 35 others wounded by shells that fell on the Bahjat Ghanem barracks.

\_this day in full the books also date it 7 October 1985 \_on this day

\_what the books add

On 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.

September 18, 1985wednesday
Presidents Chamoun, Frangieh, and Helou met in Smar-Jbeil in order to launch wide Christian sittings.

\_this day in full \_on this day

September 24, 1985tuesday
A first Lebanese Forces-Amal-PSP meeting was held in Damascus.

\_this day in full \_on this day

\_what the books add

In 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.

September 28, 1985saturday
Another dramatic day in Beirut and its surroundings where artillerymen killed 32 persons and wounded 76 others.

\_this day in full \_on this day

September 29, 1985sunday
The Beirut International Airport was bombed and some installations were destroyed.

\_this day in full \_on this day

September 30, 1985monday
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.

\_this day in full the books also date it 1 October 1985 \_on this day

\_what the books add

Fisk 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.