Lebanon
has a long history of civil conflict involving its competing religious
and ethnic factions. These factions include the Maronite Christian
minority, who are often in conflict with the Muslim majority. The
Muslims are themselves divided between the Sunni Muslim majority and
the Shiite Muslim minority. The Druze peoples in the southern mountains
form another distinct faction. Added to Lebanon's demographic divisions
are the hundreds of thousands of (mostly) Muslim Palestinian refugees
who live in permanent refugee settlements.
This is just a shortened Modern History Time Line
For a more in depth history may I suggest you go to Wiki
September 1920
After the League of Nations grants the mandate for Lebanon and Syria to
France, the State of Greater Lebanon is proclaimed. It includes the
former autonomous province of Mount Lebanon, plus the provinces of
north Lebanon, south Lebanon and the Bekaa, historically part of Syria.
1925 - 1927 Druze Revolt Rebelliono of the Druze minority against French rule.
May 1926 Lebanese Representative Council approves a constitution and the Lebanese Republic is declared.
1940 Lebanon comes under the control of the Vichy French government.
1941 After Lebanon is occupied by Free French and British troops in June 1941, independence is declared on 26th November.
March 1943
The foundations of the state are set out in an unwritten National
Covenant which uses the 1932 census to distribute seats in parliament
on a ratio of six-to-five in favour of Christians. This is later
extended to other public offices. The president is to be a Maronite
Christian, the prime minister a Sunni Muslim and the Speaker of the
Chamber of Deputies a Shia Muslim.
November-December 1943
Free French forces detain members of the recently-appointed government,
which had declared an end to the mandate, before releasing them on 22
November, henceforth known as independence day. France agrees to
transfer power to the Lebanese government from 1 January 1944.
1948-1949
(Arab-Israeli War) Lebanon joined the other Arab nations by invading
the newly-created State of Israel. The Lebanese invasion was turned
back by the Israelis. Israel and Lebanon would maintain an official
state of war for many years.
1957
President Camille Chamoun accepts the Eisenhower Doctrine,
announced in January, which offers US economic and military aid to
Middle Eastern countries to counteract Soviet influence in the region.
1958
Faced with increasing opposition which develops into a civil war,
President Chamoune asks the US to send troops to preserve Lebanon's
independence. The US, mindful of the recent overthrow of the Iraqi
monarchy, sends marines.
1958
(Lebanese Civil War) Conflict between Lebanon's Christian and Muslim
communities leads to a civil war which kills between 2,000 and 4,000
people. The United States lands several thousand Marines in Beirut in
support of the government.
June 1967
Lebanon plays no active role in the Arab-Israeli war but is to be
affected by its aftermath when Palestinians use Lebanon as a base for
activities against Israel.
December 1968
In retaliation for an attack by two members of the Popular Front for
the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) on an Israeli plane in Athens,
Israel raids Beirut airport, destroying 13 civilian planes.
November 1969
Army Commander-in-Chief Emile Bustani and Palestine Liberation
Organisation (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat sign an agreement in Cairo
which aims to control Palestinian guerrilla activities in Lebanon.
10th April 1973
Israeli commandos raid Beirut and kill three Palestinian leaders, close
associates of Arafat. The Lebanese government resigns the next day.
13th April 1975
Phalangist gunmen ambush a bus in the Ayn-al-Rummanah district of
Beirut, killing 27 of its mainly Palestinian passengers. The
Phalangists claim that guerrillas had previously attacked a church in
the same district. (These clashes are regarded as the start of the
civil war).
June 1976 Syrian troops enter Lebanon to restore peace but also to curb the Palestinians.
October 1976
Following an Arab summit meetings in Riyad and Cairo, a ceasefire is
arranged and a predominantly Syrian Arab Deterrent Force (ADF) is
established to maintain it.
28th December Israeli Raid on Beirut.
1969 Palestinian-Lebanese Hostility begin.
1969-1970 Christian-Shia Violence increases.
1970 Lebanese and Palestinians Clash.
1971 Violence erupts between the Lebanese-Palestinian.
1973 Israeli raid on Beirut.
1973 Lebanese and Palestinians Clash.
1975-1976 Lebanese Civil War.
Arab-Israeli war with Israel controlling the south
16th March
Kamal Jumblatt is Assassinated. Jumblatt was the leader of Lebanon's
Druze minority. His murder is one of the sparks that set off the long
Lebanese Civil War.
March 1978
In reprisal for a Palestinian attack into its territory, Israel
launches a major invasion of Lebanon, occupying land as far north as
the Litani river.
March 1978
UN Security Council (UNSC) passes Resolution 425, which calls on Israel
to withdraw from all Lebanese territory and establishes the United
Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) to confirm the Israeli
withdrawal, restore peace and help the Lebanese government re-establish
its authority in the area.
13th June 1978
Israel hands over territory in southern Lebanon not to UNIFIL but to
its proxy mainly Christian Lebanese militia under Major Saad Haddad.
13th June 1978 A
leader of the Christian Maronite faction, Tony Frangieh was the son of
former Lebanese President Suleiman Frangieh. This assassination was
part of the ongoing battle between the Marada Brigade of the Frangieh
clan, and the Phalangist militia of the Gemayal family.
1978 (Israeli Invasion of Lebanon) Operation Litani was the official name of Israel's.
1978
invasion of Lebanon up to the Litani river. The invasion was a military
success, as the Israeli military expelled the PLO from Southern
Lebanon, where they had created a de facto state within a state. An
international outcry over the invasion forced a partial Israeli retreat
and the creation of a United Nations patrolled buffer zone between the
Arab guerrillas and the Israeli military.
1981
In response to PLO rocket attacks, Israeli forces began heavy bombing
of PLO targets in Lebanon. The United States negotiated a cease-fire.
1982-1984
The Israeli Invasion of Lebanon In response to repeated guerrilla
attacks by the PLO, which were launched from South Lebanon, Israel
invaded with the intent of destroying Arafat's forces. Syria, which
maintained a large army in Lebanon, fought Israel and suffered an
embarrassing defeat.
September 1982 The first contingent of a mainly US, French and Italian peacekeeping force, requested by Lebanon, arrives in Beirut.
September 1982 Bachir's elder brother, Amine Gemayel, is elected president.
May 1983
Israel and Lebanon sign an agreement on Israeli withdrawal, ending
hostilities and establishing a security region in the southern Lebanon.
6th June
Most Israeli troops withdraw but some remain to support the mainly
Christian South Lebanon Army (SLA) led by Maj-Gen Antoine Lahoud which
operates in a "security zone" in southern Lebanon.
June 1982
Following the attempted assassination of Shlomo Argov, Israeli
ambassador to Britain, Israel launches a full-scale invasion of
Lebanon, "Operation Peace for Galilee".
14th September 1982
President-elect, Bachir Gemayel is assassinated by a bomb that
destroyed the headquarters of his Phalangist Party. Gemayal was the
leader of the pro-Israel and pro-Western Phalangist Party and a foe of
Syria and the Palestinians. The following day, Israeli forces occupy
West Beirut, and from 16 to 18 September, the Phalangist militia kill
Palestinians in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in West Beirut.
1983 October
241 US marines and 56 French paratroopers are killed in two bomb
explosions in Beirut, responsibility for which is claimed by two
militant Shia groups.
1984-2000
The Israeli Occupation of South Lebanon took place as they withdrew
from most of Lebanon seized in the 1982 invasion, Israel held onto a
large part of Southern Lebanon with the aid of the "South Lebanon Army
(SLA)," a militia set up and supported by Israel. This occupation was
opposed by the PLO and other Palestinian groups as an extension of
their long-running conflict with Israel. Also, other militia armies
(mostly Lebanese Muslim groups), such as Hezbollah (supported by Iran
and Syria), stepped up attacks on the Israeli-occupied region as well
as on settlements and military targets in northern Israel. In 2000,
Israel withdrew from Lebanon and the SLA disbanded.
16th June 1985
A TWA plane lands in Beirut after having been hijacked on a flight from
Athens to Rome by two alleged members of Hezbollah demanding the
release of Shia prisoners in Israeli jails.
21st May 1987
Lebanon abrogates the 1969 Cairo agreement with the PLO as well
as officially cancelling the 17 May 1983 agreement with Israel.
1st June 1987
After Prime Minister Rashid Karami is killed when a bomb explodes
in his helicopter, Karami was a Sunni Muslim and a veteran political
leader, was an ally and supporter of Syria. Selim al-Hoss becomes
acting prime minister.
September 1988
When no candidate is elected to succeed him, outgoing President
Amine Gemayel appoints a six-member interim military government,
composed of three Christians and three Muslims, though the latter
refuse to serve. Lebanon now has two governments - one mainly Muslim in
West Beirut, headed by El-Hoss, the other, Christian, in East Beirut,
led by the Maronite Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Gen Michel Aoun.
March 1989 Aoun declares a "war of liberation " against the Syrian presence in Lebanon.
16th May 1989
Grand Mufti Hasan Khaled Assassination Khaled was the chief legal
cleric of Lebanon's Sunni Muslims. His death by car bomb is attributed
to his moderate politics.
March 1989 Aoun declares a "war of liberation " against the Syrian presence in Lebanon.
October 1989
The National Assembly, meeting in Taif, Saudi Arabia, endorses a
Charter of National Reconciliation, which reduces the authority of the
president by transferring executive power to the cabinet. The National
Assembly now has an equal number of Christian and Muslim members
instead of the previous six to five ratio.
November 1989
President Rene Moawad is assassinated shortly after his election and
succeeded by Elias Hrawi. The following day, Selim el-Hoss becomes
prime minister and Gen Emile Lahoud replaces Awn as Commander-in-Chief
of the Army on 28 November.
22nd September 1989
(Nazem el Qadri Assassination) El Qadri, a Sunni Muslim
parliamentarian, was an opponent of Syria's occupation of Lebanon. His
shooting death was seen as a not-too-subtle Syrian warning to other
Lebanese politicians not to oppose Syria. Peace negotiations were
underway in Taif, Saudi Arabia, and one of the items on the table was a
deadline for a Syrian military withdrawal.
22nd November 1989
(Lebanese President René Moawad Assassination)Moawad, a Maronite
Christian who had been President for only 17 days, died as his car was
destroyed by a bomb in Beirut. Moawad had been attempting to form a
unity government in order to end the civil war.
21st October 1990
(Dany Chamoun Assassination) Chamoun was a Maronite Christian leader
and the son of former Lebanese President Camille Chamoun. The younger
Chamoun was an ally of General Michel Aoun, who opposed the pro-Syrian.
April 1996
"Operation Grapes of Wrath", in which the Israelis bomb Hezbollah bases
in southern Lebanon, the southern district of Beirut and the Bekaa. An
Israeli attack hits a UN base at Qana and results in the death of over
100 displaced Lebanese civilians sheltering there.
US negotiates a truce and an "understanding" under which Hezbollah and
Palestinian guerrillas agree not to attack civilians in northern
Israel, and which recognises Israel's right to self-defence but also
Hezbollah's right to resist the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon.
Lebanon and Syria do not sign the "understanding" but the
Israel-Lebanon Monitoring Group (ILMG), with members from the US,
France, Israel, Lebanon and Syria, is set up to monitor the truce.
April 1998
Israel's inner cabinet votes to accept UN Security Council Resolution
425 of 1978 if Lebanon guarantees the security of Israel's northern
border. Both Lebanon and Syria reject this condition.
October 1990
The Syrian air force attacks the Presidential Palace at Baabda and Aoun
takes refuge in the French embassy. This date is regarded as the end of
the civil war.
December 1990 Omar Karami heads a government of national reconciliation.
1991
The National Assembly orders the dissolution of all militias by 30
April but Hezbollah is allowed to remain active and the South Lebanon
Army (SLA) refuses to disband.
May 1991
A Treaty of Brotherhood, Cooperation and Coordination is signed in
Damascus by Lebanon and Syria and a Higher Council, co-chaired by their
two presidents, is established.
July 1991
The Lebanese army defeats the PLO in Sidon so that it now confronts the
Israelis and the SLA north of the so-called "security zone".
August 1991
The National Assembly grants an amnesty for all crimes committed
during the civil war, 1975-1990. Aoun receives a presidential pardon
and is allowed to leave for France.
October 1991 Lebanon participates in the Middle East Peace Conference launched in Madrid.
February 1992
Sheikh Abbas al-Musawi, Secretary-General of Hezbollah, is killed
when Israeli helicopter gunships attack his motorcade on a road
south-east of Sidon.
17th June 1992 all Western hostages held by Shia groups have been released.
October 1992
After elections in August and September (the first since 1972),
Nabi Berri, secretary-general of the Shia Amal organisation, becomes
speaker of the National Assembly.
October 1992
Rafik Hariri, a rich businessman, born in Sidon but with Saudi Arabian
nationality, becomes prime minister, heading a cabinet of technocrats.
July 1993
Israel attempts to end the threat from Hezbollah and the Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC) in
southern Lebanon by launching "Operation Accountability", the heaviest
attack since 1982.
25th July-31st July 1993
Israeli Forces launched Operation Accountability a week-long military
campaign directed at Hezbollah (this conflict is called The Seven-Day
War by the Lebanese).
11th April-27th April 1996 (Operation
Grapes of Wrath) Israel's massive air and artillery attack on Hezbollah
targets in southern Lebanon which attempted to end shelling of northern
Israel by the Iranian and Syrian-backed Lebanese Islamic militia.
Israel forces launched 1,100 air raids and fired nearly 25,132 shells
at Hezbollah targets during the sixteen-day offensive. A United Nations
camp at Qana, Lebanon, was hit by Israeli shelling, killing 118
Lebanese civilians who sought shelter there. Nearly 640 Hezbollah
rockets hit northern Israel in this time period, particularly the
often-hit settlement of Kiryat Shemona. Israel's ally and proxy force,
the South Lebanon Army (a mixed Christian and Shiite Muslim militia
under the command of renegade Lebanese Major Saad Haddad), also engaged
in ground fighting with Hezbollah. At least 350 civilians were wounded
in Lebanon , and 62 Israeli civilians were wounded in Israel.
November 1998 Army head Emile Lahoud is sworn in as president, succeeding President Hrawi.
December 1998
Selim el-Hoss becomes prime minister, heading a cabinet which
includes no militia leaders and only two ministers from the previous
administration.
June 1999 June Lebanon Army (SLA) completes its withdrawal from the Jazzin salient (north of the "security zone") occupied since 1985.
March 2000 Israeli cabinet votes for the unilateral withdrawal of Israeli troops from southern Lebanon by July 2000.
April 2000
Israel releases 13 Lebanese prisoners held without trial for more than
10 years but extends the detention of Hezbollah's Sheikh Abdel Karim
Obeid and Mustafa Dib al-Dirani.
May 2000
After the collapse of the SLA and the rapid advance of Hezbollah
forces, Israel withdraws its troops from southern Lebanon, more than
six weeks before its stated deadline of 7 July.
October 2000 Rafik Hariri takes office as prime minister for a second time.
January 2002
Elie Hobeika, a key figure in the massacres of Palestinian
refugees in 1982, dies in a blast shortly after disclosing that he held
videotapes and documents challenging Israel's account of the massacres.
August 2003 Car bomb in Beirut kills a member of Hezbollah. Hezbollah and a government minister blame Israel for the blast.
September 2004 UN Security Council resolution aimed at Syria demands that foreign troops leave Lebanon. Syria dismisses the move.
14th February 2005
(Prime Minister Rafik Hariri Assassination)Prime Minister Hariri was a
foe of the Syrian Occupation of Lebanon, and his murder was widely
believed (though never proven) to be the work of Syria. His death
sparked the so-called Cedar Revolution. He was a former head of the
Lebanese Communist Party and was particularly critical of Syria's
intelligence service and its influence in Lebanese affairs.
2005
(The Cedar Revolution) The assassination of Prime Minister Hariri on
February 14, 2005 triggered huge rallies opposing the 29-year Syrian
occupation of Lebanon. The Cedar Revolution led to the withdrawal of
Syrian forces in the spring of 2005.
September 2005 Four pro-Syrian generals are charged over the assassination of Rafik Hariri.
21st June 2006
(Pierre Gemayal Assassination) Pierre Gemayal, the son of former
president Amin Gemayal and the nephew of Bashir Gemayal, was a cabinet
minister.
2006
The Israel-Hezbollah war also known in Israel as "The Second Lebanon
War (2006) In response to repeated guerrilla attacks by the Shiite
Lebanese militia Hezbollah, Israel invaded southern Lebanon, set up a
naval blockade, and launched a powerful bombing campaign in order to
win the release of two captured Israeli soldiers.
July 2006
Israel launches air and sea attacks on targets in Lebanon after
Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group seizes two Israeli soldiers.
Civilian casualties are high and the damage to civilian infrastructure
wide-ranging. Thousands of people are displaced. In August Israeli
ground troops thrust into southern Lebanon.
August 2006
Truce between Israel and Hezbollah comes into effect on 14 August after
34 days of fighting and the deaths of around 1,000 Lebanese - mostly
civilians - and 159 Israelis, mainly soldiers. A UN peacekeeping force,
expected to consist of 15,000 foreign troops, begins to deploy along
the southern border.
September 2006 Lebanese government forces deploy along the Israeli border for the first time in decades.
20th May 2007 - September 2, 2007
(North Lebanon Conflict) This conflict began when the Lebanese Army
began a siege of the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in order to drive out a
militant Islamic militia called Fatah Islam. The resulting combat
killed 158 Lebanese soldiers, 120 Fatah al-Islam militants and 42
civilians. The violence began on 20th May, 2007, when Lebanese
authorities raided a Fatah al-Islam safe-house in Tripoli, sparking a
gun battle. The fighting spread to the nearby Nahr al-Bared camp, where
Fatah al-Islam was based. The Lebanese Army quickly cordoned off the
camp and began a siege which ended in September, 2007, as the defeated
remnants of Fatah al-Islam attempted to break out of the camp and were
destroyed in firefights with the Lebanese military.
May 2007 UN Security Council votes to set up a tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of ex-premier Hariri.
13th June 2007 (Walid
Eido Assassination)Eido was a member of Parliament and a Sunni Muslim.
He belonged to the Future Movement, which was led by Saad Hariri and an
opponent of Syrian influence in Lebanon.
16th June 2007
The United Nations Security Council resolution creating an
international tribunal to try suspects in the assassination of Rafik
Hariri took effect.
June 2007 Anti-Syrian MP Walid Eido is killed in a bomb attack in Beirut.
September 2007 Anti-Syrian MP Antoine Ghanim is killed by a car bomb.
November 2007
President Emile Lahoud steps down after parliament fails to elect his
successor. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora says his cabinet will assume
powers of presidency.
20th December 2007
(Brigadier General François al-Hajj Assassination) General al-Hajj
commanded the Lebanese Army in the North Lebanon Conflict's Battle of
Nahr el-Bared, that pitted the government against the Fatah al-Islam
militia. Al-Hajj was scheduled to succeed General Michel Suleiman (the
president-elect) as the army chief of staff in 2008.
December 2007 Car bomb kills Gen Francois al-Hajj, who had been tipped to become army chief.
7th May-21st May 2008 Hezbollah Rebellion a Conflict
between Hezbollah and the Le May 2008 At least 80 people are killed in
clashes between Hezbollah and pro-government factions, sparking fears
of civil war.
April 2009
Former Syrian intelligence officer Mohammed Zuhair al-Siddiq
arrested in connection with killing of former PM Rafik Hariri.
2009
Four pro-Syrian Lebanese generals held since 2005 over Hariri murder
freed after UN court in Hague rules that there is not enough evidence
to convict them.
July 2009
The Lebanese army says it broke up a cell of 10 al-Qaeda-linked
Islamists whom it accused of planning to attack troops and UN
peacekeepers in the south.
2011
The UN's Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL) issues four arrest warrants
over the murder of Rafik Hariri. The accused are members of Hezbollah,
which says it won't allow their arrest.
Source
www.historyguy.com
www.bbc.co.uk
wikimediafoundation.org
Article and photos of interest about Lebanon
