Tout sur l'actualité de Lebanon Civil War sur Libnanews, Le Média Citoyen du Liban

It was on April 26, 2005 that the last Syrian troops left Lebanon, thus putting an end to a presence of almost three decades in the Land of the Cedars, following strong international pressure and Lebanese opposition following the assassination on February 14, 2005 of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. On this occasion, a departure ceremony was organized in Rayak in the Bekaa, in the presence of General Ali Habib, Syrian Chief of Staff, of Syrian General Rustom Ghazalé, who had commanded the powerful Syrian intelligence services in Lebanon, and the Commander of the Lebanese Army at the time, General Michel Sleiman. This withdrawal took place within the framework of the UN Security Council resolution 1559, adopted in September 2004 at the initiative of France and the United States while the mandate of President Emile Lahoud was going to be renewed for 3 new years. at the initiative of Damascus. It aimed in particular to put an end to Syrian interference in Lebanese internal affairs and to the disarmament of all the militias still present. A military presence in 1976 at the call of the Christian community then a change of alliance Syria had imposed its influence on Lebanon thanks to the civil war which began in 1975, while relations between the two countries have always been somewhat problematic since their respective independence. From June 1, 1976, Syrian President Hafez el Assad had sent his troops to Lebanon, officially to put an end to the PLO and Palestinian ambitions to form a quasi-state, imposing a relative ceasefire and already proposing a rebalancing of the sharing of power between communities to the detriment of the Christian community. As early as 1976, the question of the presence of the Syrian Army will already arise. Favorite to the accession to the Presidency of the Republic, Raymond Eddé will finally be dismissed in favor of Elias Sarkis, the first point of his program being the departure of all foreign troops including those from Syria. The Riyadh summit, which would take place subsequently, legitimized this intervention, with the creation of the Arab Deterrence Force (FAD), with the agreement of Sleiman Frangié, President of the Lebanese Republic, and Yasser Arafat, head of the 'Palestine Liberation Organization. Originally, this force will number 30,000 men, including 25,000 Syrian soldiers.Then, Syria will get more involved by changing its local alliances and bombing Christian areas, thus supporting the PLO. Thus, Damascus will be accused of having assassinated the leader of the PSP, Kamal Joumblatt, who opposed the entry of his troops in 1976, or of supporting the Saïka, a Palestinian militia directly dependent on the orders of Syrian officers and who will fight the Christian defense militias. Faced with this Syrian involvement, the Kataëb who made up the bulk of the Lebanese Front will come into contact with Israel, whose military wing was then headed by Bachir Gemayel. The Hebrew state will provide them with military equipment and military intelligence. From March 1978, Israel invaded part of southern Lebanon 3 days after the massacre of 37 Israelis in a Tel Aviv bus by members of the PLO infiltrated from southern Lebanon. Read https://libnanews.com/liban-israel-occupation-olp-amal-hezbollah-onu/ In 1978, clashes directly opposed Christian and Syrian militias. For 100 days, the eastern part of Christian Beirut will be bombarded from July until October, by the Syrian Army and its allies, causing many deaths and injuries and significant material damage. Interview with Hafez el Assad about Lebanon In 1981, it will be the turn of the city of Zahlé to become the martyr of a war with clashes between the Arab Dissuasion Forces, now mainly Syrian since the withdrawal in 1979 of other soldiers from other Arab countries, Kataëb and the involvement Israel, which will provide air support to them. The Syrian Army is now lining up 40,000 troops in Lebanon. From 1982, Damascus will be accused of having had the President of the Republic Bashir Gemayel assassinated, who stood up to him in Ashrafieh. The assassination, claimed by a member of the PSNS, Habib Chartouni, will lead, according to the official version, to the “punitive” massacre of Sabra and Chatila on the night of September 17 to 18. . His brother Amine succeeds him as president, under the military cover of the Tsahal. This, however, will gradually withdraw, thus allowing Damascus to regain a foothold in Lebanon. The Syrian army will intervene in particular in Tripoli in the north of Lebanon when an Islamist militia will try to establish an emirate there. It will also support the Druze and Sunni militias opposed to the Phalangists during the Mountain War from 1982 to 1984. The presence of the Syrian army will be called into question on several occasions during the civil war, in particular in June 1983, with the dissolution by the then President of the Republic Amine Gemayel of the Arab Deterrence Force, a year and a half later. the Israeli invasion of 1982. Damascus will lead several mediations during this same period, until becoming the real arbiter, in particular through Ghazi Kanaan or even Abdel Halim Khaddam. Syria will also support the Amal movement supported by pro-Syrian Palestinian militias facing the PLO between 1985 and 1987. In 1985, the Tripartite agreement signed by the Amal movement, the PSP of Walid Joumblatt and by Elie Hobeika on behalf of the Lebanese Forces but without the agreement of the movement's command committee, will already foreshadow the Taëf chords , with the authorization given to the Syrian Army to remain in Lebanon "to separate the rival factions". Elie Hobeika however lost to Samir Geagea and took refuge in the zone occupied by Damascus. The main dates during the Civil War April 13, 1975The start of the civil warApril 13, 1975 June 1, 1976Entry of Syrian troops into LebanonJune 1, 1976 April 14, 2019Operation Litani Israeli troops will intervene in Lebanon from March 14 to 21, 1978April 14, 2019 February 7, 1978The 100 Day WarBeginning of the Syrian bombardments of the district of Ashrafieh. They will continue until April 1978February 7, 1978 December 22, 1980Siege of ZahleThe siege of the city of Zahlé will begin on December 22, 1980 and will continue until June 30, 1981 December 22, 1980 August 22, 1982Bachir Gemayel, PresidentElection of Bachir Gemayel as president of the republic. He will be assassinated on September 14, 1982. Syria will be accused of this assassination. August 22, 1982 September 22, 1988The liberation warAmine Gemayel appoints Michel Aoun prime minister. The latter launched the "war of liberation" against the Syrian army on 14 March 1989 , which will end with his defeat on October 13, 1990September 22, 1988 General Aoun's Liberation War As Amine Gemayel's term of office expires, he appoints the then commander of the Lebanese army, General Michel Aoun, as interim military government, with a view to organizing elections. However, the latter is not supported by the United States or even by Damascus, which supports the Salim Hoss government, which has resigned. Calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops in order to organize legislative elections to renew a chamber whose mandate has been extended since 1972 and faced with the refusal of Damascus, General Aoun launched a war of liberation in 1989. This war will be a failure in military terms but will place Lebanon all the same on the front of the world map, with questions as to the legitimacy of the Syrian presence in Lebanon. A committee made up of King Hussein of Jordan, King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, and President Chadli Bendjedid of Algeria culminate in a comprehensive ceasefire and a parliamentary meeting to discuss "national reconciliation" that will have held in Taif, Saudi Arabia. The deputies will sign - on strong suspicions of corruption, some deputies returning to Lebanon evoking a proposed sum of 100,000 USD per signatory - then the Taif agreements which will remove all the prerogatives of the presidency of the republic to entrust them to the council of ministers. General Aoun refuses the agreement and dissolves the Lebanese Parliament. During the establishment of the Taif agreement, some Lebanese opponents denounce it, being according to them signed at the height of the Syrian occupation and by a Parliament not reelected for nearly 15 years. At the same time, René Moawad will be elected President of the Republic. However, he will be assassinated 17 days later and will be replaced by Elias Hraoui, considered close to Damascus. In addition, fighting will break out between the Lebanese Army of General Aoun and the Lebanese Forces over the control of illegal ports. Lebanese soldiers under General Aoun, prisoners of the Syrian Army, October 13, 1990. The Lebanese file will be definitively entrusted to Damascus following the support of Hafez el Assaf against Iraq during the Gulf war. Thus, if Syrian troops are present in Saudi Arabia to liberate Kuwait, they will also intervene in Lebanon, on October 13, 1990 against the reduction of "legality". From then on, the local media will evoke the double SS tutelage, namely Syria and Saudi Arabia. A Syrian presence confirmed by fraternity cooperation and coordination agreements From then on, Damascus will expand its hold over Lebanon, with the exception of southern Lebanon, under Israeli occupation until 2000 , to the detriment of the Christian community in particular. https://libnanews.com/liban-israel-occupation-olp-amal-hezbollah-onu/ The first legislative elections under Syrian control which will take place in 1992 will be marked by a strong boycott in the Christian regions, some deputies being elected with only 42 votes. Moreover, among the 300,000 people who received Lebanese nationality during the presidential decree of 1994, more than 70% were Syrians, further aggravating this view of things. These newly naturalized people will tip the electoral balance in the elections that will follow in favor of pro-Syrian candidates, the opposition parties struggling to break through. On the security front, the Syrian forces will disarm the various militias, with the exception of the South Lebanon Army supported by Israel and the Shiite duo Amal and Hezbollah who are facing it. On the economic level, Lebanon, however bloodless due to the civil war, will serve as a "money pump" for Syria, from which certain leaders will benefit greatly in a personal capacity. Thus, the Syrian Vice-President, friend of Rafic Hariri, who became Prime Minister in 1993, will receive commissions of up to 10% on the award of public contracts while the reconstruction market turns out to be successful, without mentioning the commissions granted to senior Syrian officials. Therefore, in each crisis, Damascus will be judge and arbiter, the Lebanese leaders frequently visiting the Syrian capital to seek mediation from the Syrian authorities. Elected on November 24, 1989, the President of the Republic Elias Hraoui will see his mandate extended for another 3 years with the blessing of Damascus and will end on November 23, 1998. Its first prime minister will be Salim Hoss in 1990, then Omar Karamé from 1990 to 1992. The latter will be forced to resign on May 13, 1992 under pressure from the street protesting against the high cost of living and the sudden deterioration in the parity of the Lebanese pound which will reach up to 3,000 LL / USD. Finally, Rafic Hariri, one of the architects of the Taëf agreements, will arrive at the Grand Seraglio, who will be its prime minister until the end of his mandate. Some will claim that the attack on the Lebanese pound was induced by the banks he owned and the support of some of his friends who wanted to get him to power. Prime Minister, Rafic Hariri's years will be marked by various projects including the reconstruction of downtown Beirut, entrusted to SOLIDERE, a company incorporated for this purpose but whose role is marked by many controversies, in particular due to forced expropriation. many beneficiaries and undervaluation of their assets, by the establishment of mobile telecommunications networks but also by the arrival at the head of the Banque du Liban, of Riad Salamé, who will stabilize the parity of the Lebanese pound at the cost of high interest rates, which will even reach a record 38%. Public expenditure will then be financed by significant public debt provided for under the Horizon 2000 plan, providing for public debt which should reach 120% of GDP. At the same time, Israeli attacks continued in particular in 1996, between April 11 and 27, 1996. Israel then launched a bombing campaign called Operation Grapes of Wrath against targets in Lebanese territory with the aim of weakening Hezbollah. On December 23, 1998, the Commander of the Lebanese Army, Emile Lahoud, will be elected President of the Republic, with the blessing of Damascus, of which he is considered to be close. He will appoint Salim Hoss, Prime Minister. Faced with spending and the significant increase in public debt, he decided to implement an austerity policy. He resigned in 2000 after his defeat in the legislative elections against Rafic Hariri's list. In 2000, the withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon but also the death of Syrian President Hafez el Assad allowed the Syrian presence in Lebanon to be called into question. The meeting of Kornet Chehwa began in 2001, a meeting of the various local political parties opposing the Syrian presence at the call of the Maronite bishops and sponsored by the Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, in the absence of the main groups who have been exiled or put in prison. At the same time in August 2001, the patriarch will make a historic tour of the Chouf, thus marking the official reconciliation with the Druze community and its leader Walid Joumblatt a few decades after the mountain war and the massacres which then followed. This reconciliation was one of the precursors to the convergence of interests between the different communities that make up Lebanon in order to obtain the withdrawal of Syrian troops. Internationally, the international community will begin to gain a foothold on the Lebanese file, particularly with the approach of the presidential elections scheduled for 2004, while Damascus would rather seek the extension of Emile Lahoud's mandate and the United States seeing it. the assurance of the maintenance of the Syrian presence in Lebanon opposing it, threatening to intervene militarily on behalf of the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restauration Act which comes into force on December 12, 2003. Key dates of the Pax Syriana (1990-2000) November 24, 1989Election of Elias HraouiElias Hraoui becomes President of the RepublicNovember 24, 1989 October 13, 1990The end of free zonesThe Syrian army takes control of the free zonesOctober 13, 1990 October 31, 1992First Hariri governmentRafic Hariri is appointed Prime Minister for the first time after the resignation of Rachid Karamé following major protestsOctober 31, 1992 December 23, 1998Election of Emile LahoudElection of the Commander of the Lebanese Army as President of the Republic. Salim Hoss succeeds Rafic Hariri.December 23, 1998 May 24, 2000Israeli withdrawal from southern LebanonMay 24, 2000 UN Security Council Resolution 1559 Former President of the Republic Jacques Chirac with former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. Syria will then suspect Rafik Hariri, with his address book, to campaign in favor of a new UN resolution calling for the disarmament of Hezbollah and the evacuation of Syrian troops. Adopted on September 2, 2004 by the UN Security Council, at the joint initiative of France and the United States, by 9 votes out of 15, and 6 abstentions, UN resolution 1559 came to demand " the end of any military presence other than Lebanese on the territory ", the dismantling of militias such as Hezbollah and the organization of presidential elections, while Damascus wished to extend the mandate of President Emile Lahoud. It was also a question of reinforcing Rafic Hariri vis-a-vis the Syrians. However, the mandate of Emile Lahoud will however be renewed for 3 new years on November 23, 2004 by the Lebanese parliament by 96 votes and 29 votes against. The Current Futures Group, including Rafic Hariri himself, voted in favor of the extension after Rafic Hariri was summoned to Damascus. Emile Lahoud will then appoint Rachid Karamé prime minister, bringing Rafic Hariri into the opposition. The shock of the assassination of Rafic Hariri The relationship between Damascus and Koreitem, home of now former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, having deteriorated for a long time, he would have received numerous death threats from Damascus. The former Lebanese prime minister will be killed along with 21 other people in an explosion as his vehicle passes near the St. Georges. He had just left parliament and just had a coffee, Star's Plaza . Among the dead were several bodyguards of Rafic Hariri and the former Minister of Economy Bassel Fleihan as well as people were coincidentally at the scene. The explosive charge will be estimated at nearly a ton of TNT. A procession of demonstrators heading towards the Place des Canons, March 14, 2005. Photo credit: François el Bacha, all rights reserved. Major almost daily demonstrations will then take place in Lebanon with the support of the international community, while Syria is accused of being at the origin of this assassination. Omar Karamé will be forced to resign on April 14, 2005, replaced the next day by Nagib Mikati. In the end, the Syrian troops will leave Lebanon on April 26, 2005 and then begin a new chapter in the history of the two countries. Key dates of the Pax Syriana (2000-2005) June 10, 2000Death of Hafez el AssadJune 10, 2000 octobre 23, 2000New Hariri governmentRafic Harir succeeds Salim Hoss who lost the legislative electionsoctobre 23, 2000 December 12, 2003Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restauration ActDecember 12, 2003 September 2, 2004Adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1559September 2, 2004 décembre 23, 2004Extension of the mandate of Emile Lahouddécembre 23, 2004 February 14, 2005Assassination of Rafic HaririFebruary 14, 2005 April 26, 2005Departure of Syrian troops from LebanonApril 26, 2005

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Tag: Lebanon Civil War

Lebanon / History: the withdrawal of Syrian troops on April 26, 2005

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