Lebanese Civil War

Geraghty The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon . The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 130,000 to 250,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people (one fourth of the population) were wounded, half of whom were left with lifetime disabilities. There is no consensus among scholars and researchers on what triggered the Lebanese Civil War. The antecedents of the war can be traced back to the conflicts and political compromises reached after the end of Lebanon's administration by the Ottoman Empire . The Cold War had a powerful disintegrative effect on Lebanon, which was closely linked to the polarization that preceded the 1958 crisis as well as the heightening tension that preceded the collapse of 1975. Regional polarization had a more important visible effect on Lebanon than did global polarization. The establishment of the state of Israel and the displacement of a hundred thousand Palestinian refugees to Lebanon (around 10% of the total population of the country) changed the demographics of Lebanon and provided a foundation for the long-term involvement of Lebanon in regional conflicts. The involvement of Syria , Israel, the United States and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) exacerbated the conflict. After a short break in the fighting in 1976 due to Arab League mediation and Syrian intervention, Palestinian-Lebanese strife continued, with fighting primarily focused in south Lebanon , occupied first by the PLO, then by Israel. During the course of the fighting, alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. By the end of the war, nearly every party had allied with and subsequently betrayed every other party at least once. The 1980s were especially bleak: much of Beirut lay in ruins as a result of the 1976 Karantina massacre carried out by the Lebanese Front , the Syrian Army shelling of Christian neighborhoods in 1978 and 1981, and the Israeli invasion that evicted the PLO from the country.

Geraghty Hafez al-Assad Mustafa Tlass Central Commander of ARF in Lebanon 120,000–150,000 people killed The Lebanese Civil War ( - Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah ) was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon , lasting from 1975 to 1990 and resulting in an estimated 120,000 fatalities. As of 2012, approximately 76,000 people remain displaced within Lebanon. There was also a mass exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon as a result of the war. Before the war, Lebanon was multisectarian, with Sunnis and Christians being the majorities on the coastal cities, Shias being mainly based in the south and the Beqa' to the east, with the mountains being in their majority Druze and Christian. As for the government of Lebanon it had been run under a significant influence of the elites among the Maronite Christians . The link between politics and religion had been reinforced under the mandate of the French colonial powers from 1920 to 1943, and the parliamentary structure favored a leading position for the Christians. However, the country had a large Muslim population and many pan-Arabist and Left Wing groups opposed the pro-western government. The establishment of the state of Israel and the displacement of a hundred thousand Palestinian refugees to Lebanon changed the demographic balance in favor of the Muslim population. The Cold War had a powerful disintegrative effect on Lebanon, which was closely linked to the polarization that preceded the 1958 political crisis , since Maronites sided with the West while Left Wing and pan-Arab groups sided with Soviet aligned Arab countries. Fighting between Maronite and Palestinian forces began in 1975, and Left Wing, pan-Arabist and Muslim Lebanese groups later allied themselves with the Palestinians. During the course of the fighting, alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. Furthermore, foreign powers, such as Israel and Syria, became involved in the war and fought alongside different factions. Peace keeping forces , such as the Multinational Force in Lebanon & UNIFIL , were also stationed in Lebanon. The 1989 Taif Agreement marked the beginning of the end of the fighting. In January 1989, a committee appointed by the Arab League began to formulate solutions to the conflict. In March 1991, parliament passed an amnesty law that pardoned all political crimes prior to its enactment. In May 1991, the militias were dissolved, with the exception of Hezbollah , while the Lebanese Armed Forces began to slowly rebuild as Lebanon's only major non-sectarian institution. Religious tensions between Sunnis and Shias remained after the war. Inhorn, Soraya Tremayne - 2012, p 238 "BBC NEWS - Middle East - Who are the Maronites?" . bbc.co.uk .

Geraghty Strength 25,000 troops (1976) 1,200 troops 1,000 troops 1,000 troops 700 troops 700 troops 120,000–150,000 people killed The Lebanese Civil War ( – Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah ) was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon , lasting from 1975 to 1990 and resulting in an estimated 120,000 fatalities. As of 2012, approximately 76,000 people remain displaced within Lebanon. There was also an exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon as a result of the war. Before the war, Lebanon was multisectarian, with Sunni Muslims and Christians being the majorities in the coastal cities, Shia Muslims being mainly based in the south and the Beqaa Valley to the east, and with the mountain populations being mostly Druze and Christian. The government of Lebanon had been run under a significant influence of the elites among the Maronite Christians . The link between politics and religion had been reinforced under the mandate of the French colonial powers from 1920 to 1943, and the parliamentary structure favored a leading position for its Christian population. However, the country had a large Muslim population and many pan-Arabist and left-wing groups opposed the pro-western government. The establishment of the state of Israel and the displacement of a hundred thousand Palestinian refugees to Lebanon during the 1948 and 1967 exoduses contributed to shifting the demographic balance in favor of the Muslim population. The Cold War had a powerful disintegrative effect on Lebanon, which was closely linked to the polarization that preceded the 1958 political crisis , since Maronites sided with the West while leftist and pan-Arab groups sided with Soviet -aligned Arab countries. Fighting between Maronite and Palestinian forces (mainly from the Palestine Liberation Organization ) began in 1975, then Leftist, pan-Arabist and Muslim Lebanese groups formed an alliance with the Palestinians. During the course of the fighting, alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. Furthermore, foreign powers, such as Israel and Syria, became involved in the war and fought alongside different factions. Peacekeeping forces, such as the Multinational Force in Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon , were also stationed in Lebanon. The 1989 Taif Agreement marked the beginning of the end of the fighting. In January 1989, a committee appointed by the Arab League began to formulate solutions to the conflict. In March 1991, parliament passed an amnesty law that pardoned all political crimes prior to its enactment. In May 1991, the militias were dissolved, with the exception of Hezbollah , while the Lebanese Armed Forces began to slowly rebuild as Lebanon's only major non-sectarian institution. Religious tensions between Sunnis and Shias remained after the war. Inhorn, Soraya Tremayne – 2012, p 238 "BBC NEWS – Middle East – Who are the Maronites?" . bbc.co.uk . 6 August 2007.

Geraghty Strength 25,000 troops (1976) 1,200 troops 1,000 troops 1,000 troops 700 troops 700 troops 120,000–150,000 people killed The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities and an exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon . The diversity of the Lebanese population played a notable role in the lead-up to and during the conflict: Sunni Muslims and Christians comprised the majority in the coastal cities; Shia Muslims were primarily based in the south and the Beqaa Valley in the east; and Druze and Christians populated the country's mountainous areas. The Lebanese government had been run under the significant influence of elites within the Maronite Christian community. The link between politics and religion had been reinforced under the French Mandate from 1920 to 1943, and the country's parliamentary structure favoured a leading position for its Christian-majority population . However, the country had a large Muslim population to match, and many pan-Arabist and left-wing groups opposed the Christian-dominated pro- Western government. The influx of thousands of Palestinians in 1948 and 1967 contributed to the shift of Lebanon's demography in favour of the Muslim population. The Cold War had a powerful disintegrative effect on Lebanon, which was closely linked to the political polarization that preceded the 1958 Lebanese crisis , since Christians sided with the Western world while leftist, Muslim, and pan-Arabist groups sided with Soviet -aligned Arab countries . Fighting between Maronite-Christian and Palestinian forces (mainly from the Palestine Liberation Organization ) began in 1975; leftist, Muslim, and pan-Arabist Lebanese groups formed an alliance with the Palestinians in Lebanon. Over the course of the fighting, alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. Furthermore, foreign powers, such as Israel and Syria , became involved in the war and fought alongside different factions. Various peacekeeping forces, such as the Multinational Force in Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon , were also stationed in the country during the conflict. The Taif Agreement of 1989 marked the beginning of the end of the war. In January 1989, a committee appointed by the Arab League began to formulate solutions to the conflict. In March 1991, the Lebanese parliament passed an amnesty law that pardoned all political crimes prior to its enactment. In May 1991, all of the militias in Lebanon were dissolved, with the exception of Hezbollah , while the Lebanese Armed Forces began to slowly rebuild as Lebanon's only major non-sectarian institution. Religious tensions between Sunnis and Shias remained after the war. BBC News – Middle East . 6 August 2007. There are <ref group=Note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).

Geraghty Strength 25,000 troops (1976) 1,200 troops 1,000 troops 1,000 troops 700 troops 700 troops 120,000–150,000 people killed The Lebanese Civil War ( Arabic : الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon . The religious diversity of the Lebanese people played a notable role in the lead-up to and during the conflict: Lebanese Christians and Lebanese Sunni Muslims comprised the majority in the coastal cities; Lebanese Shia Muslims were primarily based throughout southern Lebanon and in the Beqaa Valley in the east; and Druze and Christians populated the country's mountainous areas. At the time, the Lebanese government was under the influence of elites within the Maronite Christian community. The link between politics and religion was reinforced under the French Mandate from 1920 to 1943, and the country's parliamentary structure favoured a leading position for Lebanese Christians, who constituted the majority of the population. However, Lebanon's Muslims comprised a large minority and the influx of thousands of Palestinians —first in 1948 and again in 1967 —contributed to Lebanon's demographic shift towards an eventual Muslim majority. Lebanon's Christian-dominated government had been facing increasing opposition from Muslims, pan-Arabists , and left-wing groups. The Cold War also exerted a disintegrative effect on the country, closely linked to the political polarization that preceded the 1958 Lebanese crisis . Christians mostly sided with the Western world while Muslims, pan-Arabists, and leftists mostly sided with Soviet -aligned Arab countries . Fighting between Lebanese Christian militias and Palestinian insurgents , mainly from the Palestine Liberation Organization , began in 1975 and generated an alliance between the Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims, pan-Arabists, and leftists. The conflict deepened as foreign powers, namely Syria , Israel , and Iran , became involved and supported or fought alongside different factions. Over the course of the conflict, these alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. While much of the fighting took place between opposing religious and ideological factions, there was significant conflict within some faith communities, especially amongst both Christians and Shias. Peacekeeping forces, such as the Multinational Force in Lebanon and the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon , were stationed in Lebanon during this time. In 1989, the Taif Agreement marked the beginning of the end for the fighting as a committee appointed by the Arab League began to formulate solutions to the conflict. In March 1991, the Parliament of Lebanon passed an amnesty law that pardoned all political crimes that had been perpetrated prior to the law's time of enactment. In May 1991, all of the armed factions that had been operating in Lebanon were dissolved, excluding Hezbollah , an Iran-backed Shia Islamist militia . Though the Lebanese Armed Forces slowly began to rebuild as Lebanon's only major non-sectarian armed institution after the conflict, the federal government remained unable to challenge Hezbollah's armed strength . Religious tensions, especially between Shias and Sunnis , persisted across Lebanon since the formal end of the hostilities in 1990. BBC News – Middle East . 6 August 2007. There are <ref group=Note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a template (see the help page ).