LBN36176
| Title | Actors/Parties Involved | Description | Date of incident | Death toll | Number of Injured | Sources of Conflict | Security Incident Category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sieges set off clashes in other areas | Christian militias, Muslim militias, Palestinian militias, National Movement (NM) |
The sieges, which started in January, set off clashes on several fronts across the country, marked by a rise in the number of cross-sectarian abductions. As Christian militias were laying siege to Palestinian camps and Muslim-populated neighborhoods in East Beirut and its suburbs, Palestinian and Muslim militias were attacking Christians in cities and villages in North Lebanon and the Beqaa, as well as on the southern coastal road. This displaced the Christian population from these areas. In central Beirut, NM militias attacked Christian militias in the areas of Kantari and Ain al-Mreisseh. On January 8, 1976, residential areas in East Beirut (Ashrafieh, Sioufi, Geitawi, and Dfouni) came under intense shelling from Ras al-Nabeh, Bechara al-Khoury, and Tel al-Zaatar, all of which were under the NM’s control. |
Sunday, January 4, 1976 to Saturday, January 31, 1976 | Bombardment, Clashes/Armed Conflict, Forced Displacement of Population, Hostage Taking Situation [inc. attempt, release], Murder | |||
| Fall of Tal el-Zaatar and Jisr el-Basha | Lebanese Kataeb Party, National Liberal Party (NLP), Christian militias |
Christian militias launched an attack against the Palestinian camps of Jisr al-Basha and Tel al-Zaatar. The attack was led by the PNL, with the support of other Christian militias and splinter groups of the Lebanese Army. The Kataeb joined after June 27. For 53 days, the militias launched more than 70 attacks, using 155-millimeter mortar shells—sometimes at a rate of three bombs per minute—and resorted to a few dozen armored tanks. Jisr al-Basha fell on June 29, 1976, and Tel al-Zaatar on August 12, 1976. When Tel al-Zaatar fell, between 1,000 and 1,500 Palestinians were killed; some were summarily executed, including a number of them who had already evacuated the camp and were reaching West Beirut. However, the distinction between armed elements and civilians is unclear. Many bodies were mutilated, and a number of women were raped. Between 11,000 and 15,000 civilians were evacuated from Tel al-Zaatar, through the ICRC and the Arab League, and more than 400 wounded were handed over to the ICRC. While several thousand civilians and fighters from the camp were killed and thousands injured as a result of the shelling, many—particularly children—died because of the shortage of medication and water. The number of total casualties since the beginning of the siege varies between 2,200 and 4,280 Lebanese and Palestinian, including those killed the day the camp fell. This was the largest massacre in the war that was yet to happen. After the camp attacks, the Lebanese Forces (LF) came into creation. Its president was Bachir Gemayel, representing the Kataeb, and its vice president was Dany Chamoun, representing the PNL. |
Tuesday, June 22, 1976 to Thursday, August 12, 1976 | 4 280persons | Bombardment, Clashes/Armed Conflict, Forced Displacement of Population, Murder, Gender Based Violence [inc. sexual violence] | ||
| Siege of Tal el-Zaatar and Jisr el-Basha camps | Christian groups |
In early January 1976, the warring parties resorted to a new form of violence. On January 4 Christian militias began a siege of the Palestinian camps of Tel al-Zaatar and Jisr al-Basha, and the shantytowns of Maslakh and Karantina, as well as Nabaa and the Palestinian camp of Dbayeh, which were all located on the eastern side of Beirut. This became a full-blown confrontation and civilian massacre, which ended in August of that year. (Maslakh, Karantine, Nabaa, Dbayeh discussed in detail in a separate incident report). On January 4, 1976, Christian militias stopped a number of supply trucks heading to Tel al-Zaatar and Jisr al-Basha, even though they were escorted by ISF patrols. The siege involved blocking access to medical supplies, water, and electricity. Mainly Palestinians refugees lived in the camps, but there also were some Lebanese, Syrians, and Egyptians there. The main power cable supplying Beirut, located in the vicinity of Tel al-Zaatar, was hit on June 23, depriving all of Beirut of power for more than four months. |
Sunday, January 4, 1976 to Thursday, August 12, 1976 | Clashes/Armed Conflict, Murder, Raid | |||
| Forced displacements | Lebanese Kataeb Party, National Liberal Party (NLP) |
Subsequent developments show that Christian militias’ military actions were designed to displace civilians and homogenize the populations between Christian-dominated and Muslim-Palestinian dominated areas. In East Beirut and its suburbs, Palestinian militias were controlling the camps of Tel al-Zaatar (close to the industrial and residential Christian-populated areas of Mkalles and Dekwaneh) and Jisr al-Basha (close to the Christian residential area of Hazmieh); those areas along with Nabaa, Karantina/Maslakh, encircled East Beirut (Ashrafieh, Badaro, Furn al-Chebbak, Ain al-Remmaneh). Over the previous years, these militias had been blocking main arteries in the area, cutting off civilian and military communications and movement; moreover Christian residents of Dekwaneh and Mkalles, endured daily atrocities including abductions, murders, theft, and rape, which prompted them to leave for safer places |
Thursday, December 11, 1975 to Monday, December 22, 1975 | Forced Displacement of Population, Gender Based Violence [inc. sexual violence], Hostage Taking Situation [inc. attempt, release], Murder | |||
| Fighting resumes in North and Beirut |
Fighting resumed in Zahleh, Tripoli, and Zgharta, with heavy weaponry. Most Christians fled from Tripoli as well as the Christian villages in the Akkar, and they headed toward the Christian-populated region of Kesrouan, in the northern suburbs of Mount Lebanon. In parallel, tension was on the rise in the capital, paving the way for a resumption of violence. On September 13, 1975, the Dekwaneh-Tel al-Zaatar front in East Beirut flared up, and in the following days, clashes spread to front-line zones, namely Ain al-Remmaneh-Chiyah and—for the first time—downtown Beirut. Snipers, positioned at all the city’s main entry points, were shooting at children, women, and men. Some historians reported that scores of civilians were killed at crossroads, under the bridges, and especially in the areas separating Christian areas from Muslim ones. |
Saturday, September 13, 1975 | Clashes/Armed Conflict, Murder, Shooting | ||||
| Shelling of Tal el-Zaatar and additional neighborhood shootings | Palestinian Groups |
Shells that fell on Tel al-Zaatar in the eastern suburbs of Beirut injured six people and killed two children, according to Palestinian officials. Also, 13 civilians were wounded in separate incidents, which included Palestinian armed men storming into three residential apartments and shooting at passers-by. That same day, a Lebanese civilian was killed by sniper fire, and four other people were killed in crossfire in Dekwaneh and Fanar. |
Wednesday, May 21, 1975 | 7persons | 19persons | Bombardment, Clashes/Armed Conflict, Shooting | |
| Clashes between PLO and Kataeb near Tal el-Zaatar and Dekwaneh | Lebanese Kataeb Party, Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) |
Clashes broke out between PLO fighters from the camps of Tel al-Zaatar and Jisr al-Basha and the Kataeb in the area of Dekwaneh. On the 20th, the clashes spread to other areas, now between Christian militias and Shi'a Lebanese supported by Palestinian fighters in the Shi'a-populated areas such as Chiyah and Nabaa. |
Sunday, May 18, 1975 to Tuesday, May 20, 1975 | Clashes/Armed Conflict | |||
| Fighting broke out in several areas in Beirut | National Movement (NM), Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), Lebanese Kataeb Party, National Liberal Party (NLP) |
Over the course of three days, Christian militias on one hand and Lebanese Leftist and Palestinian militias on the other clashed in various parts of the country. In Beirut, fighting broke out in areas where there was some proximity between Christian-populated residential areas and Palestinian camps or Muslim-populated areas, which would later become regular conflict zones: Dekwaneh-Tel al-Zaatar, Ain al-Remmaneh, Chiyah, Haret Hreik, Mreijeh, Burj al-Barajneh, Karantina, Maslakh, and Ashrafieh. Weapons included rocket launchers, automatic rifles, and mortars of small caliber. Clashes also broke out in North Lebanon between Tripoli and Zgharta. In the Shuf, Palestinian commandos from the Barja region attacked two neighboring Christian villages (Ain al-Assad and Marj Barja), causing a temporary displacement of population toward the Christian-populated East Beirut. And in Saida a general strike was ongoing, with continuous explosions and gunfire. During this time, according to newspaper reports, 300 people were killed, 1,500 buildings destroyed, and losses amounting to $200 million were reported by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Mahmud Riad, the secretary general of the League of Arab States, landed in Beirut on April 14 and announced a ceasefire on April 16. The Kataeb, the PLO, the National Movement (NM), and the PNL agreed to retract their armed members from the streets. The Kataeb handed over two of the seven party members who were accused of the bus shooting. The ceasefire remained shaky, however, because various incidents of abductions, explosions, and clashes were still taking place across the country. |
Sunday, April 13, 1975 to Wednesday, April 16, 1975 | 300persons | Hostage Taking Situation [inc. attempt, release], Bombardment, Clashes/Armed Conflict, Explosion, Forced Displacement of Population, Shooting |