January 3, 1977
A violent explosion shook the district of Accoui
in Achrafieh causing 26 dead and 70 injured. Shattered glass
fell all over the streets hitting several vehicles. The
death toll rose to 50 by the next morning.
February 8, 1977
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.
February 14, 1977
The ambassador of the United States returned to Lebanon.
Intense diplomatic activity was carried on in Beirut. The
French Minister of Foreign Affairs started an official
visit. The American Secretary of State met, during a visit
to the Middle East, with President Sarkis in Beirut
reassuring him that the United States supports the
independence, unity and territorial integrity of the
country. He announced a 50 million dollars aid to Lebanon.
March 10, 1977
The cost of living had substantially increased in
Lebanon. Meat, sugar, cheese, oil and chicken tripled since
before 1975. Fares varied from a region to another due to
the lack of control.
March 16, 1977 He was
leaving in Moukhtara when he and two other passengers were
killed. An ambush was set up not far from an Arab Strike
Force control post. This assassination aroused a huge wave
of disapproval. A call for a strike was immediately issued.
The country was in mourning. Chief of the Lebanese left
wing, leader of the Druze community, author of several
political books, coming from a famous family in the Chouf,
Kamal Joumblatt was born in 1917 in Moukhtara
March 19, 1977 An
airplane was hijacked between Turkey and Lebanon. The
operation began 50 minutes after a Boeing 727 on the
Diarbakin-Ankara route took off with 182 passengers aboard
and 6 crewmembers. Two hijackers forced the airplane to head
towards Beirut where it landed at 4pm. The Lebanese
authorities took charge of the situation and began
negotiations with the hijackers. Ultimately, the passengers
were released and the police arrested the hijackers.
On
November 5, 1977 the Saheka forces attacked the village of
Aishiyeh killing 41 of its residents and displacing most of
the others.
November 9, 1977
Israel launched an assault in the South. An air
and sea Israeli bombing of Lebanese towns and Palestinian
camps claimed the lives of 110 civilians. The town of Ezzieh
was razed.
OnMarch 11, 1978, PLO
made a sea landing in Haifa, Israel, commandeereda bus, and then drove toward Tel Aviv, firing
from the windows. By the end ofthe day, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) had killed the
nine of PLO, who hadmurdered
thirty-seven Israeli civilians.
In March1978, Israel attacked PLO
positions in south Lebanon in retaliation for the killing of
more than thirty bus passengers in a raid by PLO guerillas
who had come ashore in boats near Tel Aviv.
On March 15, 1978,
25,000
men backed by the aviation, armored vehicles and artillery
invaded, within 2 hours, a tenth of Lebanon and forced
Palestinians to withdraw to the North of the Litani. A first
estimate reported 700 deaths and 160,000 displaced persons.
Refugees rushed to Beirut causing a serious social problem.
Air raids bombarded Damour, Ouzaï,and Tyr.
In 1978
was marked by a series of bloody incidents
between the Syriansand the
Lebanese Forces and at one point Bashir Gemayel was arrested
at a SyrianArmy check point
in Ashrafieh. February 7, 1978 saw a clash take place
betweenthe Lebanese Army and the Syrian Army in Fayadieh.
The Syrians then surrounded the Fayadieh
and heavily
bombarded thebarracks,
fighting spread to nearby districts and the Ahrar Tigers
where drawninto the action
against the Syrians, that afternoon syrian shelled Ashrafieh
andattack the Ahrar HQ.
The
fight spread to all east of Beirut and mount Lebanon.
Syrians took high buildings like burj Rizk Ashrafieh and
burj El Murr using snipers and heavy weapons at civilians
the fight stayed for 90 days.
June 13, 1978 Tuesday: A
dramatic event was reported in Zghorta. A Phalangist squad
led by Samir Geagea and Elie Hobeika attacked the Village
and killing the Bodyguards of Tony Frangieh then 35 of his
supporters. According to his father President Sleiman
Frangieh, the Phalangist gunmen forced Tony Frangieh
and his young wife Vera to watch the shooting of
their infant daughter Jihane, then made him watch the
murder of his wife, before killing him.
June 17, 1978: President
Sleiman Frangieh declared that no Phalangist member will
stay alive in the North of Lebanon. The vendetta caused the
death of tens of persons. Phalangist militiamen were forced
to flee towards Batroun then Jbeil.
August 10, 1978 While
the bombardment of Acharafieh continued, the Arab Strike
Force evacuated twelve positions in this district. Christian
parties requested the evacuation of the Port and the
Karantina and that Saudis and Sudanese soldiers replace the
Syrian soldiers.
September 28, 1978
It is
the famous ' Black Thursday ' where hundreds of shells hit
Achrafieh in a murderous frenzy that did not spare anyone.
The Arab Strike Force and the Lebanese Front accused each
other of being responsible of this nightmare, while women,
children and elderly persons were dying.
December 8, 1978
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.
December 11, 1978
Dany Chamoun, a military leader of the NLP, was
attacked on his way to the AUH, but escaped unharmed.
December 20, 1978 Following a governmental reshuffling,
General Victor Khoury became Minister of Defense, replacing
Fouad Boutros.
June 4, 1979
Pierre Gemayel, Chief of the Phalange Party, escaped a
killing attack in Nahr el Kalb.
The explosion slightly injured his head and killed one
person and wounded about 10.
June 21, 1979
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.
June 27, 1979
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.
July 22, 1979
The Israeli aviation bombarded Damour, Naameh, Sarafand and
Adloun, making heavy casualties: 18 dead and 70 wounded
including women and children.
September 7, 1979
Three commandos hijacked an Alitalia airplane. Their
objective was to denounce Kadhafi in front of the
international opinion. 141 passengers out of 175 were
released at the airport of Rome. The air pirates surrendered
to the Iranians the next day.
October 8, 1979
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.
November 1, 1979
Combats between the Amal movement and soldiers
from the Arab Strike Force caused 5 dead and 17 wounded.
February 23, 1980
Criminal madness was unleashed in Lebanon. An odious assault
was reported in the Sursock district. A car bomb killed 8
persons including Maya, Bechir Gemayel's 20 months old
daughter, and injured 20 others. This explosion was aimed at
the chief commander of the Lebanese Forces.
February 24, 1980
Assassination of Journalist Selim Lowzi by Syria
Working on silencing the
criticism of the Syrian invasion of Lebanon, Syria
persecuted and assassinated several Lebanese journalists.
Journalist Selim Lowzi was kidnapped for nine days, but
found dead in the forests of Aramoun, near a checkpoint for
the Syrian Special Forces on February 24, 1980. Lowzi was
known for his articles opposing the Syrian regime.
March 4, 1980
The mutilated body of Selim Laouzi was found in the forests
of Aramoun ten days after his kidnapping.
March 6, 1980
Units from the Arab Strike Force positioned in the Sin el
Fil- Dekouaneh-Mekalles region started to gather in order to
withdraw towards Jamhour-Aley. The total withdrawal should
be executed by Saturday night and the Lebanese army would
replace the Syrian soldiers.
March 12,
1980 A
car bomb exploded on the Dora-Nahr el Mott boulevard, a few
seconds after the passage of Camille Chamouns' convoy.
April 12, 1980
Saad Haddad militiamen attacked UNIFL soldiers. Bombings
destroyed two United Nations helicopters in Nakoura.
May 15, 1980
Following artillery duels between the Lebanese Forces and
the Syrian National Social Party in the Upper-Metn, an army
buffer force deployed in the region.
May 23, 1980
The Northern Lebanese front flared up again. Militiamen
from the Marada launched an attack against the Phalangist
positions. In the jurd of the Batroun region, five persons
were killed and 20 others wounded.
July 4, 1980
Artillery duels and armed confrontations continued between
the Phalange Party and the NLP in the regions of
Wadi-Chahrour, Betchay, Bsous, Kfarchima, and their
surroundings. 16 persons were killed and 20 others wounded.
The next day, the Lebanese army took in charge the areas of
Wadi-Chahrour, Betchay, Bsous, Kfarchima, Bsaba, and Bleibel
in the Southern-Metn, ending the conflict between the
Phalange Party and the NLP in the region.
August 24, 1980
5 persons were killed and 35 others wounded by a car
bomb explosion in front of a coffee shop in Reyfoun.
November 7, 1980 An
agreement was reached between Camille Chamoun and Pierre
Gemayel to unify the Lebanese Forces.
November 10, 1980
A double assault spread terror in Achrafieh. Two car bombs
stuffed with 140 kg of TNT exploded and killed 10 persons
and injured 70 others. The first explosion occurred at a
busy hour, when school busses were taking students back
home, in one of Achrafieh’s streets. The second car blew up
twenty minutes later, on Elias Baaklini street, next to the
Shell gas station. The second explosion was aiming to kill
those who would rush on the street after the first one went
off.
December 21, 1980 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.
December 31, 1980
A Syrian-Israeli air fight took place in the
Lebanese sky. Damascus admitted that its two Migs were hit
and that two Israeli airplanes were shot down. Tel-Aviv
denied this information.
January 9, 1981
A new phase of the war started in Lebanon: the war of
televisions. The 'Lebanese Forces' wanted to broadcast under
the name 'Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation' and the
Mourabitun seemed to be willing to give them hard time. As a
result, they both emitted on the same channel and thus
jammed the image.
January 29, 1981
The Israeli aviation bombarded Saida and Nabatyeh for two
days. An artillery duel opposed the 'Common Forces' to the
militiamen of Saad Haddad. These Israeli bombardments killed
14 and injured 30 others.
March 1, 1981
The city of Saida went through a day of fear and
anguish after four bombs fell in its busiest streets, and
especially after Saad Haddad threatened to bomb the city.
The next day, the fighting spread to Southern Lebanon.
March 28, 1981
After Sodeco and Berjaoui, the confrontations spread to the
Museum sector. The Syrians imposed a cease-fire and tried to
compel militiamen to withdraw from Ras El Nabeh.
On April 3, 1981,
Thousands of Syrian troops and hundreds of their allies
mounted a full-scale attack against the city of
Zahle (Largest city in East Lebanon) in an attempt to
control it. The city was under siege for four month till if
fell to the Syrians. Hundreds of civilians casualties
resulted while tens were abducted after the city was
captured. Many of the Red Cross where Killed.
The Palestinians, too, had
participated actively in the Zahlé shelling. The Palestinian
military commander was Ahmad Ismail.
April 12, 1981 Following
several days of violent confrontations with the Phalange
militia, the Arab Strike Force completed its occupation of
the most strategic hills of Zahleh. The supply channels
between the capital of the Bekaa and Mount Lebanon were
closed.
May 12, 1981
SAM missiles were launched against Israeli spy airplanes.
May 16, 1981
Washington advocated a fast resolution of the missile crisis
to avoid a worsening of the situation. Beirut was hit by one
bomb from the Syrians every three seconds. Twenty-seven
persons were evacuated from Zahleh during a lull period.
May 17, 1981
Words were no longer enough to describe the horror of the
war. How to describe the endless artillery duels, the
depression of civilians buried in shelters, the magnitude of
destructions? The guns didn't stop for 9 continuous hours on
both sides of the dividing lines; 25 persons were killed and
118 wounded. What was at stake in this endless battle of
Beirut?
June 30, 1981
95 militiamen from the Lebanese Forces were evacuated from
Zahleh with their individual weapons after having
surrendered their heavy weapons to the Arab Strike Force and
to the Internal Security Forces. An Internal Security Forces
unit was positioned in the neighborhoods of Zahleh.
July 16, 1981
Within a few hours, the Israeli aviation destroyed 9 bridges
in Southern Lebanon cutting off the supply roads of the
Palestinian forces. 32 persons were killed and 97 were
injured in just one day.
July 17, 1981
Tel Aviv launched the bloodiest attack against Lebanon.
Israel bombarded the central district in Beirut, the
headquarters of the Fateh, of the Democratic Palestinian
Liberation Front and of the Popular Palestinian Liberation
Front, killing 141 and injuring 730. This was the first time
that Israel targeted the heart of a residential area in
Beirut.
August 17, 1981
20 persons were killed and 100 injured in the
confrontations between the Amal movement and the Lebanese
Communist Party in Chyah.
Bashir Gemayel decorates 91 of the Sadem special Forces on
their return from the battle of Zahle, 1981.
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