LBN320004

February 1989: The war was particularly fierce, namely in the battle of Ain al-Remmaneh,when scores of civilians were blown up by mines that were put on the new demarcation line in East Beirut

Three civilians were killed during renewed clashes among the ADF, PNL, and some Kataeb members during the bombardment in Ain al-Remmaneh.

Other incidents that reflected the open confrontation between the Christian leadership and militias and Syria took place between February and June, paving the way for the Hundred-Day War.

Between April 9 and 11, 1978, fighting between the PNL and the ADF broke out on the Chiyah–Ain al- Remmaneh axis in 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.

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.