Marada Brigade
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The Zgharta Liberation Army – ZLA (), also known as Zghartawi Liberation Army, was the paramilitary branch of the Lebanese
Marada Movement The Marada Movement () is a Lebanese political party and a former militia active during the Lebanese Civil War named after the legendary Marada (also called Mardaites) warriors of the early Middle Ages that fought on the external edge of the Byza ...
during the
Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...
. The militia was formed in the late 1960s by the future President of Lebanon and za'im
Suleiman Frangieh Suleiman Kabalan Frangieh (15 June 1910 – 23 July 1992) was a Lebanese politician who served as the 5th president of Lebanon from 1970 to 1976. Early life and education Suleiman Frangieh was a scion of one of the leading Maronites, Maronite f ...
as the Marada Brigade (also translated as
Mardaite The Mardaites () or al-Jarajima (; /ALA-LC: ''al-Jarājimah'') were early Christians following Chalcedonian Christianity in the Nur Mountains. Little is known about their ethnicity, but it has been speculated that they might have been Persian pe ...
Brigade (
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: ''Liwa' al-Marada'') and was initially led by Suleiman Franjieh's son,
Tony Frangieh Antoine "Tony" Suleiman Frangieh (; 1 September 1941 – 13 June 1978) was a Lebanese politician and militia commander during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War. He was the son of Suleiman Frangieh, a former Lebanese president. Tony ...
, who held the command until his death in the June 1978
Ehden massacre The Ehden massacre () took place on 13 June 1978, during the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War. It was an inter-Christian attack between Maronite clans. A Kataeb militia attacked the summer house of the Frangieh family in Ehden leading to the de ...
. The ZLA operated mainly out of
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...
and
Zgharta Zgharta (, ), also spelled Zghorta, is a city in North Lebanon, with an estimated population of around 50,000. It is the second biggest city in Northern Lebanon after Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli. Zgharta is officially the Zgharta-Ehden municipality ...
, but it also fought in Beirut,
Bsharri Bsharri ( ''Bšarrī''; also romanized ''Becharre'', ''Bcharre'', ''Bsharre'', ''Bcharre Al Arz'') is a Lebanese town located in the district of the same name, North Governorate, situated at altitudes between and . Bsharri is the location o ...
and
Ehden Ehden (, Syriac language, Syriac-Aramaic:ܐܗܕ ܢ) is a mountainous city in the heart of the northern mountains of Lebanon and on the southwestern slopes of Mount Makmal in the Mount Lebanon, Mount Lebanon Range. Its residents are the people of Z ...
, where they clashed with various
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
(PLO) guerrilla factions and their allied leftist Muslim militias of the
Lebanese National Movement The Lebanese National Movement (LNM; , ''Al-Harakat al-Wataniyya al-Lubnaniyya'') was a front of Leftist, pan-Arabist and Syrian nationalist parties and organizations active during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War, which supported ...
(LNM), as well as the rival Christian
Kataeb Regulatory Forces The Kataeb Regulatory Forces – KRF () or Forces Régulatoires des Kataeb (FRK) in French language, French, were the military wing of the right-wing Christianity in Lebanon, Lebanese Christian Kataeb Party, otherwise known as the 'Phalange', fr ...
(KRF) militia and its successor, the
Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ') is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...
(LF).


Origins

The Al-Marada's military wing was secretly formed in 1967 and at the outbreak of the war in April 1975, its fighters numbered just 700–800 men armed with obsolete firearms acquired on the
black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...
. They first came to light on 17 August 1970 at Beirut, when Tony Frangieh forced his way into the
Parliament House Parliament House may refer to: Meeting places of parliament Australia * Parliament House, Canberra, Parliament of Australia * Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament of South Australia * Parliament House, Brisbane, Parliament of Queensland * P ...
leading a group of armed militiamen in order to secure his father's election to the Presidency – an illegal move that the Lebanese official authorities proved powerless to prevent.


Political beliefs

Often described as a
Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...
-style gangster organization rather than a true political party, the Al-Marada/ZLA seems to have never devised a coherent program or adhered to a particular ideology. Although conservative in outlook, sharing with the other right-wing Christian parties similar viewpoints regarding the
Palestine Liberation Organization The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinians, Palestinian people in both the occupied Pale ...
's (PLO) military presence in Lebanon and the preservation of the pre-war Christian-dominated political status quo, they were generally regarded as a corps of feudal retainers infamous for their brutality and corruption.


Military structure and organization

Structured along semi-conventional lines into mechanized infantry, 'commando', signals, medical and military police branches, the ZLA had a distinct regional orientation, since its military HQ was established at the small town of
Ehden Ehden (, Syriac language, Syriac-Aramaic:ܐܗܕ ܢ) is a mountainous city in the heart of the northern mountains of Lebanon and on the southwestern slopes of Mount Makmal in the Mount Lebanon, Mount Lebanon Range. Its residents are the people of Z ...
near
Zgharta Zgharta (, ), also spelled Zghorta, is a city in North Lebanon, with an estimated population of around 50,000. It is the second biggest city in Northern Lebanon after Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli. Zgharta is officially the Zgharta-Ehden municipality ...
, where the latter residents spend the summer. While their membership and command structure was predominantly
Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...
, they did included a number of
Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gr ...
s and Greek-Orthodox into their ranks. They initially allied themselves with the other Christian rightist parties' militias –
Kataeb Regulatory Forces The Kataeb Regulatory Forces – KRF () or Forces Régulatoires des Kataeb (FRK) in French language, French, were the military wing of the right-wing Christianity in Lebanon, Lebanese Christian Kataeb Party, otherwise known as the 'Phalange', fr ...
(KRF),
Tigers Militia The Tigers militia (Arabic: نمور الأحرار, transliterated: ''Numūr al-Aḥrar''; French: ''PNL "Lionceaux"''), also known as Tigers of the Liberals (Arabic: نمور الليبراليين‎, transliterated: ''Numūr al-Lībrāliyy ...
,
Guardians of the Cedars The Guardians of the Cedars (GoC; ; ''Ḥurrās al-Arz) was'' a Lebanese nationalist party and former militia in Lebanon. It was formed by Étienne Saqr (also known with the kunya "Abu Arz" or "Father of the Cedars") and others along with th ...
(GoC),
Al-Tanzim Al-Tanzim, ''Al-Tanzym'' or ''At-Tanzim'' () was the name of an secret military society and militia set up by Christianity in Lebanon, Christian activists in Lebanon at the early 1970s, and which came to play an important role in the Lebanese C ...
,
Lebanese Youth Movement The Lebanese Youth Movement – LYM (Arabic: حركة الشباب اللبنانية , ''Harakat al-Shabab al-Lubnaniyya''), also known as the Maroun Khoury Group (MKG), was a Christianity in Lebanon, Christian militia which fought in the Leban ...
(LYM), and
Tyous Team of Commandos The Tyous Team of Commandos – TTC (, ''Fariq Tyous min' al-Maghawir'') or simply Tyous for short ('Tyous' means 'Male Goat' in Arabic, also translated as the "Stubborn Ones"; "Les Têtus", "Les Obstinés" in French), was a small Christian mi ...
(TTC) –, operating mainly in and out of
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...
, and other areas of northern Lebanon, being engaged mostly in fighting local Muslim militias, but also fought in
East Beirut The East Beirut canton, also known as Kfarshima - Madfoun or Marounistan, was a Christian militia controlled territory that existed in Lebanon from 1976 until its gradual erosion following the Taif Agreement and the end of the country's civil war. ...
. Thanks to the secret support provided by the
Lebanese Army The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; ), also known as the Lebanese Army (), is the national military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three branches, the ground forces, the air force, and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is ...
, by January 1976 the Frangieh-controlled militia ranks had swollen to 2,400 troops, a total comprising 800 full-time fighters and 1,500 irregulars. At its height in the late 1970s, the Al-Marada mustered some 3,500 men and women equipped with modern small-arms.


Weapons and equipment

Prior to the war, the ZLA militia initially received covert support from the
Lebanese Army The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; ), also known as the Lebanese Army (), is the national military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three branches, the ground forces, the air force, and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is ...
, who besides providing training, weapons and ammunition, also lent to the ZLA sophisticated mobile communications equipment. Additional weapons, vehicles, and other non-lethal equipment were procured on the international
black market A black market is a Secrecy, clandestine Market (economics), market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality, or is not compliant with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the set of goods and services who ...
or drawn from
Lebanese Armed Forces The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; ), also known as the Lebanese Army (), is the national military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three branches, the ground forces, the air force, and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is ...
(LAF) reserves and
Internal Security Forces The Internal Security Forces (; ; abbreviated ISF) are the national police and gendarmerie of Lebanon. Modern police were established in Lebanon in 1861, with the creation of a gendarmerie force. In April 2005, Ashraf Rifi became head of the I ...
(ISF) police stations. After June 1978, they were financed and armed mainly by
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
.


Infantry weapons

Al-Marada/ZLA militiamen were provided with a variety of small-arms, including Lee–Enfield SMLE Mk III and
MAS-36 The MAS Modèle 36 (also known as the ''Fusil à répétition 7 mm 5 M. 36'') is a military bolt-action rifle. First adopted in 1936 by France and intended to replace the Berthier and Lebel series of service rifles, it saw service long past the ...
bolt-action rifles Bolt action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the turn-bolt via a bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm (as most users are right-handed). The majority of bo ...
,
MAS-49 The MAS-49 is a French semi-automatic rifle that replaced various bolt-action rifles as the French service rifle that was produced from 1949. It was designed and manufactured by the government-owned MAS arms factory.Huon, Jean; ''Proud Promise— ...
,
M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the United States Army, U.S. ...
(or its Italian-produced copy, the Beretta Model 1952), M14 and
SKS The SKS () is a semi-automatic rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Sergei Gavrilovich Simonov in the 1940s. The SKS was first produced in the Soviet Union but was later widely exported and manufactured by various nations. Its disting ...
semi-automatic rifle A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single round each time the Trigger (firearms), trigger is pulled while automatically loading the next Cartridge (firearms), cartridge. These rifles were developed Pre-World War II, and w ...
s, plus
MAT-49 The MAT-49 is a submachine gun which was developed by the French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) for use by the French Army. It was first produced in 1949 and remained in French service until it was phased out following ...
and
Heckler & Koch MP5 The Heckler & Koch MP5 (, ) is a submachine gun developed in the 1960s by German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It uses a similar modular design to the Heckler & Koch G3, and has over 100 variants and clones, including selective fire, Se ...
submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine (firearms), magazine-fed automatic firearm, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to descri ...
s. Assault rifles and carbines consisted of
M16A1 The M16 (officially Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of assault rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States Armed Forces, United States military. The original M16 was a 5.56×45mm NATO, 5.56×45mm automatic ...
,
FN FAL The FAL (, English: Light Automatic Rifle) is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal and others since 1953. During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of the NATO, North Atlantic Trea ...
,
Heckler & Koch G3 The Heckler & Koch G3 () is a selective fire, select-fire battle rifle chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO developed in the 1950s by the German firearms manufacturer Heckler & Koch, in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned firearms manufacturer CE ...
, Vz. 58,
AK-47 The AK-47, officially known as the Avtomat Kalashnikova (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is an assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian small-arms designer Mikhail Kala ...
and AKM assault rifles (other variants included the
Zastava M70 The Zastava M70 ( sr-Cyrl, Застава М70) is a 7.62×39mm assault rifle developed in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia by Zastava Arms. The M70 was an unlicensed derivative of the Soviet Union, Soviet AK-47 (specifically the Type ...
,
Zastava M80 The Zastava M80 was a 5.56 mm assault rifle produced by Zastava Arms. The M80 had a fixed wooden stock while the M80A had an under-folding metal stock. It was introduced in the early 1980s. It was the 5.56 mm version of the Zastava M70, with ...
, and former East German MPi-KMS-72 assault rifles).
Shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...
s consisted of
Winchester Model 1200 The Model 1200 is a pump-action shotgun that was manufactured by the Winchester-Western Division of Olin Corporation, starting 1964. It was redesignated the Model 1300 in 1978 with minimal changes. Production ceased in 2006 when the U.S. Repea ...
,
Franchi SPAS-12 The Franchi SPAS-12 is a combat shotgun manufactured by Italian firearms company Franchi from 1979 to 2000. The SPAS-12 is a dual-mode shotgun, adjustable for semi-automatic or pump-action operation. The SPAS-12 was sold to military and police ...
, and
Franchi SPAS-15 The Franchi SPAS-15 is a dual-mode 12 gauge combat shotgun manufactured by the Italian company Luigi Franchi S.P.A. Design The weapon is based on the SPAS-12, and has similar pump-action/ semi-automatic firing modes. In semi-automatic mode, ...
semi-automatic models. Sniper rifles were also used, and models comprised the Dragunov SVD-63,
Tabuk Tabuk may refer to: *Tabuk, Kalinga, the capital city of Kalinga province of the Philippines *Tabuk Province, a province of Saudi Arabia **Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, capital city of the province ** Tabuk Regional Airport *Expedition of Tabuk, a military ...
, Zastava M76/M78 and
SSG 82 The Scharfschützengewehr 82 or SSG 82, literally ''Sharpshooter's Rifle 82'', is a rifle chambered in the 5.45×39mm Soviet cartridge built in East Germany at the end of the Cold War for use by East German special police units. Very little was ...
. Handguns included MAB PA-15 pistols, FN P35,
SIG Sauer P220 The SIG Sauer P220 is a semi-automatic pistol designed in 1975 by the SIG Arms AG division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (now SIG Holding AG), and produced by J. P. Sauer & Sohn, in Eckernförde. It is currently manufactured by both ...
and
Glock 19 Glock (; stylized as GLOCK) is a brand of polymer-Receiver (firearms), framed, Recoil operation#Short recoil operation, short-recoil-operated, striker-fired, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer G ...
pistols. Squad weapons consisted of Chatellerault FM Mle 1924/29, Bren Mk. I .303 (7.7mm),
FN MAG The FN MAG (, , ) is a Belgian 7.62 mm calibre, 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it h ...
,
Rheinmetall MG 3 The MG 3 is a German general-purpose machine gun chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The weapon's design is derived from the World War II era MG 42 that fired the 7.92×57mm Mauser round. The MG 3 was standardized in the late 1950s a ...
, VZ 59,
Zastava M77 The Zastava M77 is a 7.62x51mm battle rifle and light machine gun developed and manufactured by Zastava Arms. It is a Kalashnikov pattern rifle based on the Zastava M70. While early versions of the M77 had a milled receiver, later variants would ...
, and PK/PKM (variants included the Chinese Type 80 and the Yugoslav
Zastava M84 The Zastava M84 is a general-purpose machine gun manufactured by Zastava Arms. It is a gas-operated, air-cooled, belt-fed and fully automatic shoulder-fired weapon. The M84 is a licensed copy of the Soviet Union's PKM, with a few differences su ...
) light machine guns. Heavier Browning M2HB .50 Cal,
DShK The DShK M1938 (Cyrillic: ДШК, for ) is a Soviet heavy machine gun. The weapon may be vehicle mounted or used on a tripod or wheeled carriage as a heavy infantry machine gun. The DShK's name is derived from its original designer, Vasily Degtya ...
M, Type 77 and NSV (or its Yugoslav variant, the
Zastava M87 The Zastava M87 () is a heavy machine gun produced by Zastava Arms in Yugoslavia and later Serbia. The M87 is based on the Soviet NSV (machine gun), NSV heavy machine gun. It is intended for anti-aircraft duties, but it also used for action ag ...
) machine guns were employed as platoon and company weapons, but could also be found mounted on APCs and
technicals Technicals may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle often used in civil conflict * TECHNICALS, a clothing brand owned by Blacks Leisure Group See also * Technical (disambiguation) Technical may refer to: * Technical ...
. Portable anti-tank weapons and guided missile systems were also widely employed, comprising
RPG-7 The RPG-7 is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket launcher. The RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and are now manufactured by the Russian company Bazalt. The weapon has t ...
and
M80 Zolja The M80 Zolja (from ) is a portable one-shot disposable 64 mm unguided anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade, designed in the former Yugoslavia. The M80 Zolja is still produced in Serbia and in North Macedonia. Description Constructed from fib ...
anti-tank rocket launchers, M2 Carl Gustaf 84 mm and M67 90 mm anti-tank
recoilless rifle A Recoilless rifle (rifled), recoilless launcher (smoothbore), or simply recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated to "rr" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some fo ...
s, and
MILAN Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
and
BGM-71 TOW The BGM-71 TOW ("Tube-launched, Optically tracked, wire-guided missile, Wire-guided", pronounced ) is an American anti-tank missile. TOW replaced much smaller missiles like the SS.10 and ENTAC, offering roughly twice the effective range, a more ...
anti-tank missiles. Crew-served and indirect fire weapons included
L16 81mm mortar The L16 81mm mortar is a British and Canadian standard mortar used by the Canadian Army, British Army, and many other armed forces. It originated as a joint design by the UK and Canada. The version produced and used by Australia is named the F2 8 ...
s, plus SPG-9 73 mm, B-10 82 mm, M40 106 mm and L6 Wombat 120 mm
recoilless rifle A Recoilless rifle (rifled), recoilless launcher (smoothbore), or simply recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated to "rr" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some fo ...
s (often mounted on
technicals Technicals may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle often used in civil conflict * TECHNICALS, a clothing brand owned by Blacks Leisure Group See also * Technical (disambiguation) Technical may refer to: * Technical ...
).


Vehicles

The Al-Marada/ZLA fielded since January 1976 a mechanized corps made of ex-
Lebanese Army The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; ), also known as the Lebanese Army (), is the national military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three branches, the ground forces, the air force, and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is ...
M113 armored personnel carrier The M113 is a fully tracked armored personnel carrier (APC) that was developed and produced by the FMC Corporation. The M113 was sent to United States Army Europe in 1961 to replace the mechanized infantry's M59 armored personnel carrier, M59 A ...
s and gun trucks or '
Technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical area, an area which a manager, other coaching personnel, and substitutes are allowed to occupy during a football match * Technical advisor, a person who ...
s'. The latter consisted of commandeered
Jeep CJ-5 The Jeep CJ models are a series and a range of small, open-bodied off-road vehicles and compact pickup trucks, built and sold by several successive incarnations of the Jeep automobile marque from 1945 through 1986. The 1945 Willys "Universal Jee ...
and Jeep CJ-8 (civilian versions of the Willys M38A1 MD jeep), Land-Rover series II–III, Santana Series III (Spanish-produced version of the Land-Rover series III),
Toyota Land Cruiser (J40) The Toyota Land Cruiser (J40), is a series of Toyota Land Cruiser, Land Cruisers made by Toyota from 1960 until 2001. The 40 series Land Cruisers featured a traditional body on frame construction, and most were built as 2-door models with slig ...
, Toyota Land Cruiser (J44), Dodge Power Wagon W200, Dodge D series (3rd generation), GMC Sierra Custom K25/K30, Chevrolet C-10/C-15 Cheyenne and Chevrolet C-20 Scottsdale light pickup trucks armed with
heavy machine guns A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light machine gun, light, medium machine gun, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require weapon mount, mountin ...
,
recoilless rifles A Recoilless rifle (rifled), recoilless launcher (smoothbore), or simply recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated to "rr" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some fo ...
and
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
autocannons. For logistical support, the ZLA relied on Range Rover first generation
Sport utility vehicle A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification that combines elements of road-going passenger cars with features from off-road vehicles, such as raised ground clearance and four-wheel drive. There is no commonly agreed-upon definitio ...
s, Toyota Land Cruiser (J42)
hardtop A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, typically metal, and integral to the vehicle's design, strength, and style. The term typically applies to a pillarless hardtop, a car body style without a B-pillar. The term "pillared hardtop" was ...
light pickups, Chevrolet C-50 medium-duty, Dodge F600 medium-duty and GMC C4500 medium-duty trucks, and GMC C7500 heavy-duty cargo trucks.


Artillery

Yugoslav
Zastava M55 The Zastava M55, also designated 20/3-mm-M55, is a Yugoslavian/Serbian 20mm triple-barreled automatic anti-aircraft gun developed in 1955 and produced by Crvena Zastava (now Zastava Arms company) in Kragujevac, Serbia, for Yugoslav People's Army ...
20mm, Soviet ZPU (ZPU-1, ZPU-2, ZPU-4) 14.5mm, and
ZU-23-2 The ZU-23-2, also known as ZU-23, is a Soviet towed 23×152mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. ZU stands for ''Zenitnaya Ustanovka'' (Russian: Зенитная Установка) – anti-aircraft mount. The GRAU index is 2A13. Develo ...
23mm AA
autocannon An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a automatic firearm, fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary ammunition, incendiary shell (projectile), shells, ...
s (mostly mounted on
technicals Technicals may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle often used in civil conflict * TECHNICALS, a clothing brand owned by Blacks Leisure Group See also * Technical (disambiguation) Technical may refer to: * Technical ...
and heavier transport trucks) were employed in both
air defense Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface (Submarine#Armament, submarine-lau ...
and direct fire support roles. These light Anti-Aircraft pieces were either seized from Lebanese Army stocks, acquired on the black market or provided by Syria.


Naval craft

They also maintained a small 'naval' branch equipped with some Zodiac rubber inflatable boats and converted civilian fishing craft armed with
heavy machine guns A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light machine gun, light, medium machine gun, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require weapon mount, mountin ...
and
anti-aircraft Anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) is the counter to aerial warfare and includes "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It encompasses surface-based, subsurface ( submarine-launched), and air-ba ...
autocannons, being used as a shock force for both military and barratry operations.


List of Marada military commanders

*
Tony Frangieh Antoine "Tony" Suleiman Frangieh (; 1 September 1941 – 13 June 1978) was a Lebanese politician and militia commander during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War. He was the son of Suleiman Frangieh, a former Lebanese president. Tony ...
(1967–1978) * Robert Frangieh (1978–1982) * Suleiman Frangieh Jr. (1982–1990)


Administrative organization and illegal activities

The Frangieh clan established in 1978 their own fief in the
northern Lebanon North Lebanon () is the northern region of Lebanon comprising the North Governorate and Akkar Governorate. On 16 July 2003, the two entities were divided from the same province by former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The division was known as Law ...
, the so-called 'Northern Canton', which comprised the districts of
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...
, Koura,
Zgharta Zgharta (, ), also spelled Zghorta, is a city in North Lebanon, with an estimated population of around 50,000. It is the second biggest city in Northern Lebanon after Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli. Zgharta is officially the Zgharta-Ehden municipality ...
,
Bsharri Bsharri ( ''Bšarrī''; also romanized ''Becharre'', ''Bcharre'', ''Bsharre'', ''Bcharre Al Arz'') is a Lebanese town located in the district of the same name, North Governorate, situated at altitudes between and . Bsharri is the location o ...
and parts of
Batroun Batroun ( ';, ancient Botrys (), is a coastal city in northern Lebanon and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. It is the capital city of Batroun District. The main Political Party of this city is the Free patriotic ...
. The Canton was run by the Al-Marada's own civil administration of 80
public servants The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
, who were also entrusted of running the militia's own television and radio service, "The Voice of the Marada" (
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: عزة صوت المرادة , ''Iza'at Sawt al-Marada'') or "La Voix des Maradah" in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
, by
hijacking Hijacking may refer to: Common usage Computing and technology * Bluejacking, the unsolicited transmission of data via Bluetooth * Brandjacking, the unauthorized use of a company's brand * Browser hijacking * Clickjacking (including ''likej ...
the television and radio signals emitted by the government-owned station at (location unknown), sending
pirate broadcast Unlicensed broadcasting, also called pirate broadcasting, is a term used for any type of broadcasting without a broadcast license. Some unlicensed broadcasting, such as certain low-power broadcasting, may be legal; for example, in the United Sta ...
s. Initially funded by Suleiman Frangieh's own personal fortune, the Al-Marada/ZLA also resorted to
racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercion, coercive, fraud, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. ...
, with additional revenues being generated by the illegal ports of
Chekka Chekka is a coastal town located in North Lebanon. It is located north of Râs ach-Chaq’a’ and Herri beaches, or Theoprosopon of classical times and south of the ancient Phoenician port of Enfeh and the city of Tripoli. The origin of the wor ...
– Lebanon's industrial hub at the time – and Selaata, both located in the
Batroun District Batroun District () is a district (''qadaa'') located in the North Governorate, Lebanon, south of Tripoli. Its capital is the city of Batroun, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Its natural borders are: in t ...
, which were used for contraband of arms, agricultural goods and industrial products, drug-trafficking, and barratry. They also levied tolls on the transit trade of agricultural products and other goods at a number of in-land checkpoints, such as Madfoun in the
Batroun District Batroun District () is a district (''qadaa'') located in the North Governorate, Lebanon, south of Tripoli. Its capital is the city of Batroun, which is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Its natural borders are: in t ...
.


The ZLA in the Lebanese Civil War


Early stages and expansion 1975–78

The small ZLA entered the civil war only in July 1975, in response to a series of attacks in the
Sunni Muslim Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Musli ...
-dominated northern port city of
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...
on shops and offices owned by Christians from Zgharta by local Muslim militias. On 28 August 1975, the ZLA clashed again at Tripoli with the local Sunni militias, but also at
Zahlé Zahlé () is a city in eastern Lebanon, and the capital and largest city of Beqaa Governorate, Lebanon. With around 150,000 inhabitants, it is the third-largest city in Lebanon after Beirut and Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli and the fourth-largest ...
with the local
Greek-Catholic Greek Catholic Church or Byzantine-Catholic Church may refer to: * The Catholic Church in Greece * The Eastern Catholic Churches that use the Byzantine Rite, also known as the Greek Rite: ** The Albanian Greek Catholic Church ** The Belarusian Gr ...
Zahliote Group (ZG) militia, despite the intervention of
Lebanese Army The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; ), also known as the Lebanese Army (), is the national military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three branches, the ground forces, the air force, and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is ...
troops in a vain attempt to curb the fighting. In October that year, ZLA militiamen were heavily committed in the
Battle of the Hotels The Battle of the Hotels (, ''Maʿrakah al-Fanādiq'') was a subconflict within the 1975–77 phase of the Lebanese Civil War that occurred in the Minet-el-Hosn hotel district of downtown Beirut. This area was one of the first major battles of ...
in Beirut, though later on 14 January 1976 they were rushed to defend Zgharta, which was besieged by PLO –
Lebanese National Movement The Lebanese National Movement (LNM; , ''Al-Harakat al-Wataniyya al-Lubnaniyya'') was a front of Leftist, pan-Arabist and Syrian nationalist parties and organizations active during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War, which supported ...
(LNM) forces in retaliation for the fall of the
Palestinian refugee camp Palestinian refugee camps were first established to accommodate Palestinians who were displaced by the 1948 Palestinian expulsion and flight during the 1948 Palestine war. Camps were established by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UN ...
of
Dbayeh Dbayeh () is a city in Lebanon located on the Mediterranean Sea in the Matn District, Mount Lebanon, between Beirut and Jounieh. The majority of the population is Christian(Maronites, and Orthodox), apart from some people from the gulf who lived ...
in the hands of the
Lebanese Front The Lebanese Front was a coalition of mainly right-wing Lebanese Nationalist parties formed in 1976 by majority Christian groups during the Lebanese Civil War. It was intended to act as a reaction force to the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) ...
's Christian militias earlier that same day. Deployed again to Beirut in March 1976, they assisted the hard-pressed Republican Guard battalion in the defense of the
Presidential Palace A presidential palace is the official residence of the president in some countries. Some presidential palaces were once the official residences to monarchs in former monarchies that were preserved during those states' transition into republics. ...
in the
Baabda District Baabda District (, transliteration: ''Qada' Baabda''), sometimes spelled ''B'abda'', is a district (''qadaa'') of Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon, to the south and east of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. The region is also popularly known as "Sou ...
from a two-pronged combined PLO – LNM –
Lebanese Arab Army The Lebanese Arab Army – LAA (Arabic: جيش لبنان العربي transliteration ''Jayish Lubnan al-Arabi''), also known variously as the Arab Army of Lebanon (AAL) and Arab Lebanese Army or Army of Arab Lebabon or Armée arabe du Liban ( ...
(LAA) assault, though prior to the attack President Suleiman Frangieh had decamped to the safety of
Zouk Mikael Zouk Mikael (, also spelled Zuq Mikha'il or Zouk Mkayel) is a town and municipality in the Keserwan District of the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate in Lebanon. Its inhabitants are predominantly Melkite and Maronite Catholics. The town is well known for ...
, near
Jounieh Jounieh (, or ''Juniya'', ) is a coastal city in Keserwan District, about north of Beirut, Lebanon. Since 2017, it has been the capital of Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate. Jounieh is known for its seaside resorts and bustling nightlife, as well as it ...
, and later to Kfour in the
Keserwan District Keserwan District (, transliteration: ''Qaḍā' Kisrawān'') is a district (''qadaa'') in Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate, Lebanon, to the northeast of Lebanon's capital Beirut. The capital, Jounieh, is overwhelmingly Maronite Christian. The area ...
. Despite having joined in January 1976 the
Lebanese Front The Lebanese Front was a coalition of mainly right-wing Lebanese Nationalist parties formed in 1976 by majority Christian groups during the Lebanese Civil War. It was intended to act as a reaction force to the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) ...
alliance that gathered the main rightist Christian parties and their militias, the Frangiehs close ties to
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
(Suleiman was a personal friend of Syrian President
Hafez al-Assad Hafez al-Assad (6 October 193010 June 2000) was a Syrian politician and military officer who was the president of Syria from 1971 until Death and state funeral of Hafez al-Assad, his death in 2000. He was previously the Prime Minister of Syria ...
), along with their bitter political squabbling with the Gemayel clan – leaders of the
Kataeb Party The Kataeb Party (), officially the Kataeb Party – Lebanese Social Democratic Party ( '), also known as the Phalangist Party, is a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936. The party and its parami ...
or 'Phalange' – and their disagreements with the other Christian leaders over their tactical alliance with
Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
, prompted them to break from the Lebanese Front in 1977, an act that would ultimately led to the tragic events of the following year.


The later years 1979–1990

On June 7, 1978, six Marada militiamen assassinated the
Kataeb party The Kataeb Party (), officially the Kataeb Party – Lebanese Social Democratic Party ( '), also known as the Phalangist Party, is a right-wing Christian political party in Lebanon founded by Pierre Gemayel in 1936. The party and its parami ...
leader Joud el Bayeh who represented the party in Zgharta and wanted to open an office in the region. This would bring about retaliation as the Lebanese Forces would respond with an attack on Ehden where Tony Frangieh commanded his militia from. After
Tony Frangieh Antoine "Tony" Suleiman Frangieh (; 1 September 1941 – 13 June 1978) was a Lebanese politician and militia commander during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War. He was the son of Suleiman Frangieh, a former Lebanese president. Tony ...
was killed in the
Ehden massacre The Ehden massacre () took place on 13 June 1978, during the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War. It was an inter-Christian attack between Maronite clans. A Kataeb militia attacked the summer house of the Frangieh family in Ehden leading to the de ...
perpetrated by the
Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ') is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...
(LF) in June 1978, he was replaced in the militia's command by his younger brother Robert Frangieh, later succeeded by his nephew Suleiman Frangieh Jr. in 1982. In the months immediately after the Ehden killings, the Frangiehs were not only able to prevent the ZLA of being totally destroyed or absorbed into the Lebanese Forces, but also succeeded in ruthlessly driving the latter out of the
Koura District Koura District (, from ) is a district in the North Governorate, Lebanon. Koura is one of the 26 districts of Lebanon, particularly known for its olive tree cultivation and olive oil production. It comprises a total of 52 villages, and its ca ...
by the end of the 1970s, kidnapping or slaughtering nearly 100 Phalange' members and forcing the remainder 25,000 either to flee the region or go underground. It has also been suspected that the Al-Marada/ZLA were behind the assassinations of
Bashir Gemayel Bachir Pierre Gemayel (, ; 10 November 1947 – 14 September 1982) was a Lebanese militia commander who led the Lebanese Forces, the military wing of the Kataeb Party, in the Lebanese Civil War and was elected President of Lebanon in 1982. ...
's infant daughter and bodyguards by a car bomb explosion in February 1979 and later of Bashir himself in September 1982, although the degree of involvement of the Zgharta-based militia on any of these attacks remains unclear. After 1978, the Frangiehs switched their allegiance to the LNM camp and then to Syria, even lending their support to
Syrian Army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...
units at east Beirut against the Christian militias and the
Army of Free Lebanon The Army of Free Lebanon – AFL (), also known variously as the Colonel Barakat's Army () or Armée du Liban Libre (ALL) and Armée du Colonel Barakat in French, was a predominantly Christian splinter faction of the Lebanese Army that came to p ...
(AFL) during the
Hundred Days' War The Hundred Days War (, ''Harb Al-Mia'at Yaoum,'' French: La Guerre des Cent Jours) was a subconflict within the 1977–82 phase of the Lebanese Civil War which occurred in the Lebanese capital Beirut. It was fought between the allied Christi ...
. They joined in July 1983 the Lebanese National Salvation Front (LNSF), subsequently supporting in 1988–1990 the Syrian-sponsored
Taif Agreement The 1989 Taif Agreement (, ), officially known as the ('')'', was reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon". Negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, it was designed to end the 15 y ...
and the parliament-based provisional government of
Sunni Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
Prime-Minister Selim Hoss, Selim Al-Hoss against General Michel Aoun's
Maronite Maronites (; ) are a Syriac Christianity, Syriac Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant (particularly Lebanon) whose members belong to the Maronite Church. The largest concentration has traditionally re ...
-dominated military interim government. Pushed to the sidelines for the rest of the civil war, the Al-Marada/ZLA was able to remain active thanks to Syrian support and although its numbers dwindled to 1,600 fighters by the mid-1980s, the Al-Marada managed to hold on to the 'Northern Canton'. On July 11, 1984, the Al-Marada/ZLA clashed with the Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon, Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) Eagles of the Whirlwind, militia forces for the control of the Christian villages of Kousba, Kfaraakka, Bsarma, Dahr-al-Ain and several others in the
Koura District Koura District (, from ) is a district in the North Governorate, Lebanon. Koura is one of the 26 districts of Lebanon, particularly known for its olive tree cultivation and olive oil production. It comprises a total of 52 villages, and its ca ...
, with the ZLA eventually managing to drive out the SSNP and assert their dominance over the entire region until the end of the war. It was also alleged that they received the tacit backing from a contingent of unspecified number from the 1,700 men-strong Lebanese Army's 7th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon), Seventh Brigade stationed at Byblos, being regarded as loyal to former president Suleiman Frangieh.


Controversy

Amid tensions in the North between the Kataeb Party, Kataeb and Marada Movement, Marada parties when the former tried to expand their power in the region, ZLA/Marada militiamen assassinated Joud el Bayeh, a Kataeb Party, Kataeb leader in
Zgharta Zgharta (, ), also spelled Zghorta, is a city in North Lebanon, with an estimated population of around 50,000. It is the second biggest city in Northern Lebanon after Tripoli, Lebanon, Tripoli. Zgharta is officially the Zgharta-Ehden municipality ...
, which ignited the
Ehden massacre The Ehden massacre () took place on 13 June 1978, during the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War. It was an inter-Christian attack between Maronite clans. A Kataeb militia attacked the summer house of the Frangieh family in Ehden leading to the de ...
. To seek revenge for the
Ehden massacre The Ehden massacre () took place on 13 June 1978, during the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War. It was an inter-Christian attack between Maronite clans. A Kataeb militia attacked the summer house of the Frangieh family in Ehden leading to the de ...
, on 28 June 1978, ZLA militiamen captured and killed 26
Kataeb Regulatory Forces The Kataeb Regulatory Forces – KRF () or Forces Régulatoires des Kataeb (FRK) in French language, French, were the military wing of the right-wing Christianity in Lebanon, Lebanese Christian Kataeb Party, otherwise known as the 'Phalange', fr ...
members in the villages of Qaa and Ras Baalbek. They also disguised themselves as Kataeb militiamen in a false flag operation and massacred 13 Kataeb members in Chmout on 22 April 1979, being tipped off about the gathering of the victims by the Syrians. The ZLA/Marada militia destroyed the residence of Lebanese Greek Orthodox Christians, Greek Orthodox MP Fouad Ghosn at the town of Kousba, Koura District, Koura district in retaliation after he voted for Bachir Gemayel during the August 1982 Lebanese presidential election, 1982 Lebanese presidential election. On 2 May 1987, a ZLA unit called Marada 3/400 set up an ambush meant to kill Bahaa Douaihy and Roumanos Douaihy amid the long-running Frangieh family, Frangieh and Douaihy clans feud.


Disbandment

Upon the end of the war in October 1990, Al-Marada/ZLA militia forces operating in Beirut and the 'Northern Canton' were ordered by the Lebanese Government on March 28, 1991 to disband and surrender their heavy weaponry by April 30 as stipulated by the
Taif Agreement The 1989 Taif Agreement (, ), officially known as the ('')'', was reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon". Negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, it was designed to end the 15 y ...
.Barak, ''The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society'' (2009), p. 173. Disbanded in the early 1990s as a military force, they later re-emerged as a legal political organization, the
Marada Movement The Marada Movement () is a Lebanese political party and a former militia active during the Lebanese Civil War named after the legendary Marada (also called Mardaites) warriors of the early Middle Ages that fought on the external edge of the Byza ...
(
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
: تيار المردة , ''Tayyar al-Marada''). The ZLA is no longer active.


Uniforms and insignia


See also

*
Army of Free Lebanon The Army of Free Lebanon – AFL (), also known variously as the Colonel Barakat's Army () or Armée du Liban Libre (ALL) and Armée du Colonel Barakat in French, was a predominantly Christian splinter faction of the Lebanese Army that came to p ...
*
Ehden massacre The Ehden massacre () took place on 13 June 1978, during the 1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War. It was an inter-Christian attack between Maronite clans. A Kataeb militia attacked the summer house of the Frangieh family in Ehden leading to the de ...
*
Kataeb Regulatory Forces The Kataeb Regulatory Forces – KRF () or Forces Régulatoires des Kataeb (FRK) in French language, French, were the military wing of the right-wing Christianity in Lebanon, Lebanese Christian Kataeb Party, otherwise known as the 'Phalange', fr ...
*
Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...
*
Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ') is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...
* Lebanese National Salvation Front * List of weapons of the Lebanese Civil War *
Marada Movement The Marada Movement () is a Lebanese political party and a former militia active during the Lebanese Civil War named after the legendary Marada (also called Mardaites) warriors of the early Middle Ages that fought on the external edge of the Byza ...
* Najjadeh Party * Zahliote Group * 7th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)


References


Bibliography

* A.E. Sawan and Pierre Jabbour, ''Burden of Trust: The true story of the Commander of the SADM Unit'', Independently Published, 2020. * Bassil A. Mardelli, ''Middle East Perspectives: From Lebanon (1968–1988)'', iUniverse, 2012.

* Barry Rubin (editor), ''Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis'', Middle East in Focus, Palgrave Macmillan, London 2009.

* Claire Hoy and Victor Ostrovsky, ''By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer'', St. Martin's Press, New York 1990. * Chris McNab, ''The SVD Dragunov Rifle'', Weapon series 87, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2023. * Denise Ammoun, ''Histoire du Liban contemporain: Tome 2 1943–1990'', Éditions Fayard, Paris 2005. (in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
)

* Edgar O'Ballance, ''Civil War in Lebanon, 1975–92'', Palgrave Macmillan, London 1998. * Farid El-Khazen, ''The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon 1967–1976'', I.B. Tauris, London 2000.

* Fawwaz Traboulsi, ''Identités et solidarités croisées dans les conflits du Liban contemporain; Chapitre 12: L'économie politique des milices: le phénomène mafieux'', Thèse de Doctorat d'Histoire – 1993, Université de Paris VIII, 2007 (in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
)

* Itamar Rabinovich, ''The war for Lebanon, 1970-1985'', Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London 1989 (revised edition).

* Leigh Neville, ''Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to modern Special Forces'', New Vanguard series 257, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2018. * Matthew S. Gordon, ''The Gemayels'' (World Leaders Past & Present), Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. * Naomi Joy Weinberger, ''Syrian Intervention in Lebanon: The 1975–76 Civil War'', Oxford University Press, Oxford 1986. * Oren Barak, ''The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society'', State University of New York Press, Albany 2009.

* Paul Jureidini, R. D. McLaurin, and James Price, ''Military operations in selected Lebanese built-up areas, 1975–1978'', Aberdeen, MD: U.S. Army Human Engineering Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Technical Memorandum 11-79, June 1979. * Rex Brynen, ''Sanctuary and Survival: the PLO in Lebanon'', Boulder: Westview Press, Oxford 1990.

* Robert Fisk, ''Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War'', London: Oxford University Press, (3rd ed. 2001).

* Roger J. Azzam, ''Liban, L'instruction d'un crime – 30 ans de guerre'', Cheminements, Paris 2005. (in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
) * Leroy Thompson, ''The G3 Battle Rifle'', Weapon series 68, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2019. * Jean Huon, ''Un Siècle d'Armement Mondial: Armes à feu d'infanterie de petit calibre, tome 4'', Crépin-Leblond éditions, Chaumont 1981. (in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
) * Joseph Hokayem, ''L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975–1985)'', Lulu.com, Beyrouth 2012. , (in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
)

* Samir Makdisi and Richard Sadaka, "The Lebanese Civil War, 1975–1990", American University of Beirut, Institute of Financial Economics, Lecture and Working Paper Series (2003 No.3), pp. 1–53.

* Samer Kassis, ''30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon'', Beirut: Elite Group, 2003. * Samuel M. Katz, Lee E. Russel, and Ron Volstad, ''Armies in Lebanon 1982–84'', Men-at-Arms series 165, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1985. * Thomas Collelo (ed.), ''Lebanon: a country study'', Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Headquarters, Department of the Army (DA Pam 550-24), Washington D.C., December 1987 (Third edition 1989).

*Tom Najem and Roy C. Amore, ''Historical Dictionary of Lebanon'', Second Edition, Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, Boulder, New York & London 2021. , 1538120437 * Zachary Sex & Bassel Abi-Chahine, ''Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese civil war from 1975–1991 and Beyond'', Modern Conflicts Profile Guide Volume II, AK Interactive, 2021.


Further reading

* Fawwaz Traboulsi, ''A History of Modern Lebanon: Second Edition'', Pluto Press, London 2012. * Jean Sarkis, ''Histoire de la guerre du Liban'', Presses Universitaires de France – PUF, Paris 1993. (in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
) * Jonathan Randall, ''The Tragedy of Lebanon: Christian Warlords, Israeli Adventurers, and American Bunglers'', Just World Books, Charlottesville, Virginia 2012. * Marius Deeb, ''The Lebanese Civil War'', Praeger Publishers Inc., New York 1980. * Richard Labévière, ''La Tuerie d'Ehden ou la malédiction des Arabes chrétiens'', Éditions Fayard, Paris 2009. , (in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
) * Samir Kassir, ''La Guerre du Liban: De la dissension nationale au conflit régional'', Éditions Karthala/CERMOC, Paris 1994. (in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
) * William W. Harris, ''Faces of Lebanon: Sects, Wars, and Global Extensions'', Princeton Series on the Middle East, Markus Wiener Publishers, Princeton 1997.


External links


Al-Marada official site
(in
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
)
ZLA militia camouflage patterns

Chamussy (René) – Chronique d’une guerre: Le Liban 1975–1977 – éd. Desclée – 1978
(in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
)
Histoire militaire de l'armée libanaise de 1975 à 1990
(in
French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...
) {{Authority control Lebanese Front Military wings of nationalist parties Factions in the Lebanese Civil War Lebanese nationalism