List of massacres in Lebanon
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The following is a list of massacres that have occurred in Lebanon (numbers may be approximate):
Name | Date | Location | Deaths | Victims | Perpetrators | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Siege of Tyre (332 BC) | 332 BC | Tyre | 2,000 | Tyrians | Ancient Macedonian army | 2,000 Tyrians crucified on the beach by Alexander the Great's army |
1860 Mount Lebanon civil war | July 9–11, 1860 | Beirut and Damascus, Syria | 7,000–25,000 | Christians | Druze | A civil war between Druze and Christians in Mount Lebanon where large massacres of Christians at Deir al-Qamar, Hasbaya, Rashaya and elsewhere took place. The conflict spilled over to Damascus where Druze and Sunni Muslim paramilitary groups organized pogroms against Christian residents and refugees; 326 villages, 560 churches, 28 colleges, 42 convents, and 9 other religious establishments were completely destroyed. Many Druze and Muslims were also killed during the conflict. |
Hula massacre | October 31, 1948 | Hula | 35–58 | Lebanese | Carmeli Brigade, Israel Defense Forces | Hula, located in Lebanon, was captured on October 24 by the Carmeli Brigade of the Israel Defense Forces without any resistance. The women and children were expelled, most of the men aged between 15 and 60 were shot. In total between 35 and 58 men were executed in a house which was later blown up on top of them.[1] |
Bus massacre | April 13, 1975 | Beirut | 300 | PLO | Phalange | On the morning of 13 April 1975, PLO gunmen in a speeding car fired on a church in the Christian East Beirut suburb of Ain el-Rummaneh, killing four people, including two Maronite Phalangists. Hours later, 27 Palestinian civilians traveling in a bus through one of the Ain el Rummaneh neighborhoods of Beirut were attacked and killed by Christian Phalangists. Many more people were killed in subsequent fighting in other areas of the city later that day. Together, these incidents have been identified by several historians as the starting point of the Lebanese Civil War. |
Black Saturday | December 6, 1975 | Beirut | 300–350 | Muslims, Druze | Phalange | Four young Christian Phalangists were assassinated on the Fanar (Matn) road in Beirut. In retaliation, Phalangists murdered hundreds of non-Christians. It is estimated that more than 300 civilians were murdered in what was the first ethnic cleansing of the Lebanese Civil War. |
Karantina massacre | January 18, 1976 | Beirut | 300–1,500 | Palestinians and Lebanese Muslims | Phalange | Karantina was an impoverished predominantly Muslim district — housing Lebanese and Palestine refugees, as well as others — in northeastern Beirut, and was overrun by the Lebanese Christian militias. |
Damour massacre | January 20, 1976 | Damour | 150–250[2] | Christians | Palestine Liberation Organisation, Lebanese National Movement | PLO and LNM units attacked a Christian town, purportedly as revenge for the earlier Karantina Massacre by Christian militias. Among those killed were Phalangist militiamen and family members of Christian militia leader Elie Hobeika, and his fiancée. Hobeika later led the Phalangists in the Sabra and Shatila massacre. |
Tel al-Zaatar massacre | August 12, 1976 | Beirut | 1,500–5,000 | Palestinians | Phalange | Christian Phalangists and other rightwing Christian militias besieged Tel Al-Zaatar with help from Syrian Army units; after heavy fighting, they killed Palestinian civilian refugees and PLO fedayeen or fighters. 4,000 injured. |
Aishiyeh massacre | October 19-21, 1976 | Aishiyeh | 60–80 | Christians | Fatah, As-Sa'iqa | Fatah and As-Sa'iqa massacred the predominantly Christian village, including seven under 16yo, although the killings were overshadowed by the massacres of Tel al-Zaatar and Damour earlier the same year. |
Ehden massacre | June 13, 1978 | Ehden | 40 | Palestinians | Phalange | |
Safra massacre | July 7, 1980 | Safra | 83 | Palestinians | Phalange | |
Sabra and Shatila massacre | September 16, 1982 | West Beirut | 460–3,500 | Palestinians and Lebanese Shiites | Phalange | Sabra and Shatila were Palestinian refugee camps housing both Sunni and Christian Palestinian refugees, as well as some poor Lebanese and Kurds. |
Mountain war massacres | 1983 | South Mount Lebanon | 500–1,500 | Christians | Druze | Druze forces massacred hundreds of Christian civilians, ethnically cleansing South Mount Lebanon from Christian presence. |
1983 United States embassy bombing | April 18, 1983 | Beirut | 63 | Lebanese and Americans | Islamic Jihad Organization | Islamic militants bombed United States embassy |
1983 Beirut barracks bombing | October 23, 1983 | Beirut | 307 | Americans, French and Lebanese | Islamic Jihad Organization | Victims were mostly American Marines. |
1984 Sohmor massacre | September 20, 1984 | Sohmor | 13 | Lebanese | South Lebanon Army, Israel Defence Forces | |
War of the Camps | May 1985 | West Beirut | 3,781 | Palestinians | Shi'ite militias, Syrian Armed Forces | Sabra, Shatila and Burj el-Barajneh Palestinian refugee camps were besieged and bombed by the Shi'ite Amal militia, with Syrian Army support. 6,787 injured. Some activity occurred after May 1985 |
October 13 massacre | October 13, 1990 | Beirut | 740–940 | Lebanese | Syrian Armed Forces | 2000 injured; Maronite Lebanese soldiers and civilians were killed by Syrian forces after surrender. |
Mansouri attack | April 13, 1996 | Mansouri | 6 | Lebanese | Israel Defense Forces | |
Nabatieh Fawka attack | April 16, 1996 | Nabatieh Fawka | 9 | Lebanese | Israel Defense Forces | |
Qana Massacre | April 18, 1996 | Qana | 106 | Lebanese | Israel Defense Forces | The Israel Defense Forces fired artillery shells at a United Nations compound, which had given refuge to 800 Lebanese civilians. 116 injured in addition to 106 deaths. |
References[]
- ^ Tveit, Odd Karsten (2010) Goodbye Lebanon. Israel's First Defeat. Rimal Publication. Translated by Peter Scott-Hansen. ISBN 978-9963-715-03-9. p.368. Quoting General Dov Yermiya.
- ^ Nisan, 2003
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- Lists of events in Lebanon
- Massacres in Lebanon