History of Lebanon
War in Lebanon ( 1970 AD - 1982 AD)
War in Lebanon
In 1970, Jordan expelled the PLO from its territories sending many civilian refugees and armed guerillas into Lebanon. Meanwhile, the communist countries were having economic problems.
Syria was a typical communist country allied with the Soviet Union adapting its economical and political systems. The flourished free-market in its neighboring small country of Lebanon was the capture for Syria.
The dictator of Syria, Hafez Asad, clearly declared his intentions of annexing Lebanon on August 8, 1973 by announcing that ‘Lebanon and Syria are one country and one people yet are run by two governments’.
Arms and funding were flowing to Lebanon and many political parties were turned into armed forces while the Lebanese army was getting weaker and unable to take control. In April 13, 1975, Palestinian gunmen killed four Christian Lebanese in front of a church east of Beirut, while Christian militiamen ambushed a busload of Palestinians later of the same day.
A brutal fight broke up the war in Lebanon then. In 1976, the Syrian army invaded the Lebanese northern region of Akkar, and advanced into the Bekaa valley east of Lebanon.
A month later, the Syrian dictator delivered his famous speech in the Syrian capital stating that he sent the Syrian army to Lebanon without a permission from any authorities.
The League of Arab Countries tried to sent peace-keeping troops to Lebanon, but they were forced to leave the country for the Syrian army later. The Syrian troops in Lebanon meanwhile worked on silencing the Lebanese voices that were criticizing its martial interference by assassinating several Lebanese national and religious figures.
Palestinian militiamen kept launching attacks from the areas they controlled in South Lebanon against Northern Israel. The Israeli response was more severe and often impacted Lebanese civilians.
The attacks developed into an Israeli invasion of Southern Lebanon in March 1978. The United Nation Interim Forces were deployed in South Lebanon to reduce the tension and the Israeli forces pulled back later.
The Syrian army continued gradually occupying more regions in Lebanon including parts of the capital ‘Beirut’. The regions in which were not under Syrian occupation were punished by contenious bombing while pro-Syrian guerillas were committing massacres against civilians.
In the early eighties, Lebanon was being destroyed with contenious fighting, while PLO militias occupied most of Beirut and kept launching attacks against Northern Israel.
Previous: Switzerland of the East (1943 AD - 1969 AD)
Next: Occupied Lebanon (1982 AD - 1990AD)
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