Lebanese Civil War: Encyclopedia II - Lebanese Civil War - Fourth phase of the war 1984-89

Lebanese Civil War - Fourth phase of the war 1984-89

Lebanese Civil War - Worsening conflict and political crisis

Between 1985 and 1989, sectarian conflict worsened as various efforts at national reconciliation failed. Heavy fighting took place in the War of the Camps of 1985-86 as a Syrian-backed coalition headed by the Amal militia sought to rout the PLO from their Lebanese strongholds. Many thousands of Palestinians died, and the Sabra, Shatila, and Bourj al-Barajneh refugee camps were largely destroyed. (Fisk, 609)

Major combat returned to Beirut in 1987, when Palestinians, leftists, and Druze fighters allied against Amal, eventually drawing further Syrian intervention. Violent confrontation flared up again in Beirut in 1988 between Amal and Hizbullah. Hizbullah swiftly seized command of several Amal-held parts of the city, and for the first time emerged as a strong force in the capital.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Rashid Karami, head of a government of national unity set up after the failed peace efforts of 1984, was assassinated on June 1, 1987. President Gemayel's term of office expired in September 1988. Before stepping down, he appointed another Maronite Christian, Lebanese Armed Forces Commanding General Michel Aoun, as acting Prime Minister, contravening the National Pact. Conflict in this period was also exacerbated by increasing Iraqi involvement, as Saddam Hussein searched for proxy battlefields of the Iran-Iraq War. To counter Iran's influence through Amal and Hizbullah, Iraq backed Christian groups; Saddam Hussein helped Aoun between 1988-1990.[11]

Muslim groups rejected the violation of the National Pact and pledged support to Selim al-Hoss, a Sunni who had succeeded Karami. Lebanon was thus divided between a Christian military government in East Beirut, and a Muslim government in West Beirut with no President.

Lebanese Civil War - The Taif Agreement

The Taif Agreement of 1989 had marked the beginning of the end of the fighting. In January of that year, a committee appointed by the Arab League, chaired by Kuwait and including Saudi Arabia, Algeria, and Morocco, had begun to formulate solutions to the conflict, leading to a meeting of Lebanese parliamentarians in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia, where they agreed to the national reconciliation accord in October. The agreement provided a large role for Syria in Lebanese affairs. Returning to Lebanon, they ratified the agreement on November 4 and elected Rene Mouawad as President the following day. Military leader Michel Aoun in East Beirut refused to accept Mouawad, and denounced the Taif Agreement.

Mouawad was assassinated 16 days later in a car bombing in Beirut on 22 November as his motorcade returned from Lebanese independence day ceremonies. He was succeeded by the Elias Hrawi (who remained in office until 1998). Aoun again refused to accept the election, and dissolved Parliament.

On January 16, 1990, Gen. Aoun ordered all Lebanese media to cease using terms like "President" or "Minister" to describe Hrawi and other participants in the Taif government. The Lebanese Forces, which had grown into a rival powerbroker in the Christian parts of the capital, protested by suspending all its broadcasts; Aoun shut down to other newspapers who refused to comply. (Harris, 268) Tension with the LF grew, as Aoun feared that the militia was planning to link up with the Hrawi administration.

In early 1990 Aoun's forces clashed with the LF, after Aoun had stated that it was in the national interest for the government to "unify the weapons" (i.e. that the LF must submit to his authority as acting head of state). This brought fierce fighting to East Beirut, and although the LF made initial advances, the intra-Christian warfare eventually sapped the militia of most of its fighting strength; it then turned to Syria for support.

In August 1990, the Lebanese Parliament - which didn't heed Aoun's order to dissolve - and the new president agreed on constitutional amendments embodying some of the political reforms envisioned at Taif. The National Assembly expanded to 108 seats and was for the first time divided equally between Christians and Muslims.

By March 1990, after having subdued the LF, Aoun launched what he termed a "War of Liberation" against the Syrians and their Lebanese militia allies. As a result, Syrian pressure on his Lebanese Army and militia pockets in East Beirut grew heavier, and as Saddam Hussein focused his attention on Kuwait, Iraqi supplies dwindled. Still, Aoun persisted in the "War of Liberation", denouncing the regime of Hafez al-Assad and claiming that he fought for Lebanon's independence. While he seems to have had significant Christian support for this, he was still perceived as a sectarian leader among others by the Muslim population, who distrusted his agenda; he was also plagued by the challenge to his legitimacy put forth by the Syrian-backed West Beirut government of Elias Hrawi.

In October 1990, Syria launched a major operation by its army, air force and Lebanese allies against his stronghold around the presidential palace, where tens of Aoun supporters were then executed (see October 13 Massacre). It then cleared out the last Aounist pockets, cementing its hold on the capital. Aoun fled to the French Embassy in Beirut, and later into exile in Paris. He was not able to return until May 2005.

William Harris claims that the Syrian operation could not take place until Syria had reached an agreement with the United States, that in exchange for support against the Iraqi regime of Saddam Hussein in the Gulf War, it would convince Israel not to attack Syrian aircraft approaching Beirut. Aoun had claimed in 1989 that the United States "has sold Lebanon to Syria" (Harris, p. 260).

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Fourth phase of the war 1984-89", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki