The Syrian occupation of Lebanon lasted from 31 May 1976, beginning with the
Syrian intervention in 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 ...
, until 30 April 2005. This period saw significant
Syrian
Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
military and political influence over
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
, impacting its governance, economy, and society.
During the occupation, tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians were abducted and
forcibly disappeared
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the intent of placing ...
in
Ba'athist Syrian prison camps. The whereabouts of an estimated 30,000 of them remain unknown. The occupation ended following intense international pressure and the
assassination
Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives.
Assassinations are orde ...
of former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafic Hariri
Rafic Bahaa El Deen al-Hariri (; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese businessman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004.
Hariri headed fi ...
. The legacy of the occupation continues to influence Lebanese-Syrian relations and Lebanon's internal political dynamics.
Summary
In January 1976, Syria proposed restoring the pre-civil war limits on the
Palestinian guerrilla presence in Lebanon. This proposal was welcomed by
Maronites
Maronites (; ) are a 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 resided near Mount ...
but rejected by the Palestinian guerrillas. By October 1976, during an
Arab League
The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...
meeting, Syria agreed to a ceasefire, and the League decided to expand a small Arab peacekeeping force into a larger
Arab Deterrent Force
The Arab Deterrent Force (ADF; ) was an international peacekeeping force created by the Arab League in the 1976 Arab League summit (Riyadh), extraordinary Riyadh Summit on 17–18 October 1976, attended only by heads of state from Egypt, Kuwait, ...
, primarily composed of Syrian troops, thereby legitimizing Syrian intervention with financial support from the Arab League.
[Weisburd, 1997]
pp. 156–157
Throughout the occupation, the Assad regime promoted the idea of "
Greater Syria
Syria, ( or ''Shaam'') also known as Greater Syria or Syria-Palestine, is a historical region located east of the Mediterranean Sea in West Asia, broadly synonymous with the Levant. The region boundaries have changed throughout history. Howe ...
," taking steps to integrate Lebanon into Syria.
At the end of the civil war in 1989, Lebanon was divided between two rival administrations: a military one led by
Michel Aoun 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. ...
and a civilian one under
Selim el-Hoss in West Beirut, supported by Syria. Aoun opposed the Syrian presence, referencing the 1982
UN Security Council Resolution 520. The "
War of Liberation" broke out in March 1989, resulting in Aoun's defeat and exile. In 1991, Lebanon and Syria signed the Treaty of "Brotherhood, Cooperation, and Coordination," legitimizing Syria's military presence and assigning Syria the responsibility of protecting Lebanon from external threats. Later that year, a Defense and Security Pact was enacted between the two countries.
[Ginat et al., 2002]
p. 196
Following the adoption of
UN Security Council Resolution 1559
United Nations Security Council resolution 1559, adopted on 2 September 2004, after recalling resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 520 (1982) and 1553 (2004) on the situation in Lebanon, the Council supported free and fair presidential electio ...
and the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafic Hariri
Rafic Bahaa El Deen al-Hariri (; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese businessman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004.
Hariri headed fi ...
in 2005, allegedly involving Syria, a public uprising known as the
Cedar Revolution
The Cedar Revolution (), also known as the Independence uprising (), was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon (especially in the capital Beirut) triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. The popular movemen ...
occurred. Syria completed its withdrawal from Lebanon on April 30, 2005. On August 18 2020, a
UN-backed special tribunal found a Hezbollah member guilty of Hariri's assassination, but found no direct evidence of Syrian involvement
Background
The Syrian military presence in Lebanon was established 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 ...
, which began on April 13, 1975
The
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
's geopolitical landscape was reshaped by the conflicts and wars of June
1967
Events January
* January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair.
* January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
and October
1973
Events January
* January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
. Israel's resounding win in 1967, compounded by its occupation of the Sinai Peninsula, East Jerusalem and the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights, dealt a catastrophic blow to Egyptian President
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...
and the
pan-Arabist ideology. The 1973 War was accompanied by superpower tensions and direct American involvement in the conflict resolution.
Since the start of the conflict between the Arab states and the State of Israel, Lebanon found itself squeezed between Israel and Syria, Lebanon's combative larger neighbours. Lebanon itself is touched by the different confessional adherences and by regional and global politics.
Lebanon entered a brutal and protracted civil war in 1975. Disputes erupted between mostly Christian Lebanese militias (known as the Lebanese Right) and Palestinian militias, as well as predominantly non-Christian Lebanese militias (commonly referred to as the Lebanese Left).

In January 1976, its proposal to restore the limits to the Palestinian guerrilla presence in
Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
, that had been in place prior to the outbreak of the civil war, was welcomed by
Maronites
Maronites (; ) are a 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 resided near Mount ...
and conservative
Muslims
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
, but rejected by the
Palestinian guerrillas and their
Lebanese Druze
The Lebanese Druze () are an ethnoreligious group constituting about 5.2 percent[Bachir 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. ...](_blank)
, the relationship between the Syrian forces and the Maronite leaderships deteriorated. In 1977, tensions turned into hostility, and turned into an open all-out conflict between the two parties.
Simultaneously, Syria was concerned about the weak military of Lebanon as it would be a danger in their fight with Israel. Recognizing that they were vulnerable to attacks, Syria moved from mediation to indirect intervention in supporting guerrilla groups to, finally, the deployment of Syrian troops in Lebanon.
Syrian invasion of Lebanon
On May 31, 1976, the
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 ...
invaded Lebanon with 2,000 troops and 60 tanks in a three-pronged offensive.
The first column marched south across Shuf towards Sidon, where it was halted by PLO forces.
The second column moved west along the Beirut–Damascus axis, before being stopped at Beirut. Another column moved north through the Bekaa valley, before then going west towards Tripoli, where it was stopped by Christian forces.
The offensive had been halted by 10 June due to massive casualties inflicted onto the Syrians. In Sidon, the PLO halted Syrian advance to the city outskirts of Ain Hilwe refugee camp and on the Beirut-Damascus highway, a combined LAA-PLO force inflicted enormous casualties in Bhamadoun on June 13.
In his public speech on 20 July,
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 ...
espoused the notion of a "
Greater Syria
Syria, ( or ''Shaam'') also known as Greater Syria or Syria-Palestine, is a historical region located east of the Mediterranean Sea in West Asia, broadly synonymous with the Levant. The region boundaries have changed throughout history. Howe ...
", stating:
"Syria and Lebanon were one state and one people... and have shared interests and a common history"
A second Syrian offensive in mid-October 1976 succeeded at capturing all of central Lebanon as well as some of the country's most important urban centres.
The hostility between
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 ...
and
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 ...
made Lebanon the 'perfect' playground as it is strategically located as a
buffer
Buffer may refer to:
Science
* Buffer gas, an inert or nonflammable gas
* Buffer solution, a solution used to prevent changes in pH
* Lysis buffer, in cell biology
* Metal ion buffer
* Mineral redox buffer, in geology
Technology and engineeri ...
between the north of Israel and Western Syria. Given Syria's proximity and historical ties with Lebanon as part of what was known as "
Greater Syria
Syria, ( or ''Shaam'') also known as Greater Syria or Syria-Palestine, is a historical region located east of the Mediterranean Sea in West Asia, broadly synonymous with the Levant. The region boundaries have changed throughout history. Howe ...
", Syria has always been interested in domestic Lebanese politics.
Syrian involvement in the fighting between various Lebanese militias that erupted around the first of the year had previously been limited to tactical actions carried out by portions of the
Palestine Liberation Army
The Palestine Liberation Army (PLA; ) is ostensibly the military wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), set up at the 1964 Arab League summit held in Alexandria, Egypt, with the mission of fighting Israel. However, it has never b ...
under Damascus' supervision. Around 4 April, these efforts were bolstered by a virtual blockade of Lebanon's ports by Syrian navy forces, ostensibly to prevent the fighting factions from receiving resupply of arms and ammunition. Syrian armed forces regular infantry and armored units arrived into Lebanese territory with force less than a week later.
Occupation period
By October 1976, Syria had significantly weakened the leftists and their Palestinian allies, but at a meeting of the
Arab League
The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...
, it was forced to accept a ceasefire. The League ministers decided to expand an existing small Arab peacekeeping force in Lebanon. It grew to be a large deterrent force consisting almost entirely of Syrian troops. The Syrian military intervention was thus legitimized and received subsidies from the Arab League for its activities.
In the late 1980s, General
Michel Aoun was appointed President of the Council of Ministers by President
Amine Gemayel
Amine Pierre Gemayel (, ; born 22 January 1942) is a Lebanese politician who served as the eighth president of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988.
Gemayel was born in Bikfaya to Pierre Gemayel, the founder of the Christianity in Lebanon, Christian Kat ...
, a controversial move since Aoun was a
Maronite Christian
Lebanese Maronite Christians (; ) refers to Lebanese people who are members of the Maronite Church in Lebanon, the largest Christian body in the country. The Lebanese Maronite population is concentrated mainly in Mount Lebanon and East Beir ...
and the post was by
unwritten convention reserved for a
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 ...
. Muslim ministers refused to serve in Aoun's government, which was not recognized by Syria. Two rival administrations were formed: a military one under Aoun in East
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
and a civilian one under
Selim el-Hoss based in West Beirut; the latter gained the support of the Syrians. Aoun opposed the Syrian presence in Lebanon, citing the 1982
UN Security Council Resolution 520.
Defending Syrian military presence by portraying Lebanon as an integral part of the Syrian nation and denying allegations of Soviet support, Hafez al-Assad stated to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' in 1983:
"Lebanon and Syria are one single people, one single nation. We may be divided into two independent states, but that does not mean that we are two different nations... I would even argue that the feeling of kinship between Syria and Lebanon runs deeper than it does between states in the United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
... Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
is not in Lebanon and never was present there, neither before nor after the Israeli invasion. If the aim is to do away with the Syrian presence in Lebanon, Syria, as I told you, has been at home in Lebanon for centuries. Eight years ago, we answered the call of the President of the Lebanese republic and the heart-rending call of the Lebanese people."
The Syrian military remained in Lebanon; after a successful campaign against 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 ...
militia who had controlled Beirut's port, Aoun, now with massive popular support in his East Beirut enclave, declared a "
War of Liberation" against the Syrian forces.
Conflict with 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 ...
that was led by Michel Aoun began on 14 March 1989. Casualties among civilians on both sides from indiscriminate artillery bombardments across the front line were numerous. Aoun initially received a greater degree of international support than el-Hoss, but this ended abruptly with the American build-up for
war with Iraq over Kuwait. Aoun had received considerable support from the Iraqi government, anxious to weaken the rival Baathist government in Damascus; on October 13 1990 the Syrian forces attacked and occupied the
Presidential Palace at Baabda.
Aoun took refuge in the French embassy and was later exiled from Lebanon to France. Circumstances surrounding his exile are controversial; his apprehension and exile are variously attributed to Syrian forces,
Israel Defense Forces
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
,
Shiite
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
militias, and the Lebanese Forces militia of
Samir Geagea
Samir Farid Geagea (, , also spelled Samir Ja'ja' ; born 25 October 1952) is a Lebanese politician and former militia commander who has been the leader of the Lebanese Forces Lebanese Forces, political party and Lebanese Forces (militia ...
.
Since then, Syrian forces remained in Lebanon, exercising considerable influence. In 1991, a Treaty of "Brotherhood, Cooperation, and Coordination", signed between Lebanon and Syria, legitimized the Syrian military presence in Lebanon. It stipulated that Lebanon would not be made a threat to Syria's security and that Syria was responsible for protecting Lebanon from external threats. In September that same year a Defense and Security Pact was enacted between the two countries.
After the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon and the death of
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 ...
in 2000, the Syrian military presence faced criticism and resistance from the Lebanese population.
With the consequent adoption of
UN Security Council Resolution 1559
United Nations Security Council resolution 1559, adopted on 2 September 2004, after recalling resolutions 425 (1978), 426 (1978), 520 (1982) and 1553 (2004) on the situation in Lebanon, the Council supported free and fair presidential electio ...
and following the assassination of the Lebanese ex-premier Rafik Hariri and allegations of Syrian involvement in his death, a public uprising nicknamed the
Cedar Revolution
The Cedar Revolution (), also known as the Independence uprising (), was a chain of demonstrations in Lebanon (especially in the capital Beirut) triggered by the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. The popular movemen ...
swept the country. On 5 March 2005, Syrian President
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator
Sources characterising Assad as a dictator:
who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...
announced that Syrian forces would begin its withdrawal from Lebanon in his address to the Syrian parliament. Syria completed its full withdrawal from Lebanon on 30 April 2005.
Foreign interference
The Syrian occupation was a
proxy war
In political science, a proxy war is an armed conflict where at least one of the belligerents is directed or supported by an external third-party power. In the term ''proxy war'', a belligerent with external support is the ''proxy''; both bel ...
because of two reasons, the first one by reason of the number and purposes of the
militia
A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
s that participated. Major militias were organized along Maronite,
Druze
The Druze ( ; , ' or ', , '), who Endonym and exonym, call themselves al-Muwaḥḥidūn (), are an Arabs, Arab Eastern esotericism, esoteric Religious denomination, religious group from West Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic ...
,
Shi'a
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor ( caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community ( imam). However, his right is understoo ...
and
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 ...
identities. Militias were organized rather on political identities than confessional ones. This meant that factions of the same confessional groups could battle each other. Amal and
Hezbollah
Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
, even though both are Shi'a militias, fought brutal fights for control of the community.
Second, in the conflict, diverse foreign powers were involved as well as the militias they backed. Just about every major militia in Lebanon established a proxy relationship with a foreign state. Both Lebanon's neighbours, Syria and Israel, were among the top donors and sponsored militias from the beginning to the end of the conflict. After a few years, following the
Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982
The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...
and a change in the dynamics of the
Iran-Iraq war, Iran became actively committed in the conflict. Libya, Iraq and to a lesser extent, the United States and the Soviet Union, supplied backing to various militias. In the first half of 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
PLO
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ) is a Palestinian nationalist coalition that is internationally recognized as the official representative of the Palestinian people in both the occupied Palestinian territories and the diaspora. ...
, Palestine Liberation Organization, was both a proxy and a benefactor, which was unusual in proxy warfare history.
Iran
The newly established Islamic Republic in Iran began supporting the impoverished Shi'a population in southern Lebanon in 1982. Iran had developed close ties with Syria, the only Arab state that supported it during its eight-year war with
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
's Iraq. Iran's support for the Shi'a populations of southern Lebanon laid the foundation for what later became the social and military organization
Hezbollah
Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
.
Israel and Hezbollah have been fighting a low-intensity
guerrilla war
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...
since 1985.
United States of America
The
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
became involved in the conflict in 1976 when Israel let Syria know that it would consider foreign military forces in Lebanon as a threat to Israel's security, through the United States. The United States became aware of the situation which they could not ignore, because the left and the Palestinians had the upper-hand at that moment. The
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
was already supporting the winning side. A Syrian intervention in the conflict appealed to the United States, so they set out to convince Israel to agree to a Syrian intervention in Lebanon and the Lebanese Christians to invite the Syrians.
Eventually the United States got Israel to agree to a Syrian intervention in Lebanon on certain conditions, Syria agreed to the conditions. This became the Red Line Agreement, which entailed three things: 1) Syria's army would not cross a certain line into South Lebanon, 2) Syria's army would not use surface-to-air missiles in Lebanon, 3) lastly, the Syrian army would not use its air force on Lebanese Christians.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union played a notable role in the context of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon by supporting 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). This support aligned with the Soviet Union's broader Cold War strategy of backing socialist and nationalist movements across the Middle East.
In October 1980, the Soviet Union and Syria formalized their alliance through the signing of a twenty-year Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation. The agreement strengthened military, political, and economic ties between the two states and effectively signaled Soviet endorsement of Syria’s increasing involvement in Lebanon. Through this partnership, the Soviet Union provided Syria with military aid, training, and diplomatic support, thereby enhancing Syria’s capacity to sustain its presence and influence in Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War.
Assassinations
Kamal Jumblatt
On March 16, 1977,
Kamal Jumblatt
Kamal Fouad Jumblatt (; 6 December 1917 – 16 March 1977) was a Lebanese politician who founded the Progressive Socialist Party. He led the National Movement during the Lebanese Civil War. He was a major ally of the Palestine Liberation Organ ...
was assassinated in his car near
Baakline
Baakleen, also spelled Baaqlîne or Baakline (), is a prominent Druze town located in the Chouf District of Mount Lebanon, about 45 kilometers southeast of Beirut, Lebanon. Situated at an elevation of 850 to 920 meters, it has a population of ar ...
in the
Chouf mountains
Chouf (also spelled Shouf, Shuf or Chuf; ) is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate (muhafazat) of Mount Lebanon.
Geography
Located south-east of Beirut, the region comprises a narrow coastal strip ...
by unidentified gunmen.
His bodyguard and driver also died in the attack.
Prime suspects include the pro-Syrian faction of the Lebanese
Syrian Social Nationalist Party
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP; ) is a Syrian nationalist party operating in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. It advocates the establishment of a Greater Syrian nation state spanning the Fertile Crescent, including present-day Syria, Leb ...
(SSNP),
in collaboration with the
Ba'ath Party
The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party ( ' ), also known simply as Bath Party (), was a political party founded in Syria by Michel Aflaq, Salah al-Din al-Bitar, and associates of Zaki al-Arsuzi. The party espoused Ba'athism, which is an ideology ...
. In June 2005, former secretary general of the
Lebanese Communist Party
The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP; , transliterated: ) is a communist party in Lebanon. It was founded in 1943 as a division of the Syrian–Lebanese Communist Party into the Syrian Communist Party and the Lebanese Communist Party, but the divi ...
George Hawi
George Hawi (; born 5 November 1938 – 21 June 2005) was a Lebanese politician and former secretary general of the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP). An outspoken critic of Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs, he was killed in 2005 by a bomb ...
claimed in an interview with
Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera Media Network (AJMN; , ) is a private-media conglomerate headquartered in Wadi Al Sail, Doha, funded in part by the government of Qatar. The network's flagship channels include Al Jazeera Arabic and Al Jazeera English, which pro ...
, that
Rifaat al-Assad
Rifaat Ali al-Assad (; born 22 August 1937) is a Syrian former military officer and politician. He is the younger brother of the late President of Syria, Hafez al-Assad, and Jamil al-Assad, and the uncle of the former President Bashar al-Assad. ...
, brother of
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 ...
and uncle of Syria's former
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
Bashar al-Assad
Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator
Sources characterising Assad as a dictator:
who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...
, had been behind the killing of Jumblatt.
Bachir Gemayel
On 14 September 1982, the Lebanese president
Bachir 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. ...
was addressing a speech in
Achrafieh
Achrafieh () is an upper-class area in eastern Beirut, Lebanon. In strictly administrative terms, the name refers to a sector (''secteur'') centred on Sassine Square, the highest point in the city, as well as a broader quarter (''quartier''). In p ...
, at 4:10 pm, a bomb was detonated at the headquarters, killing him and 26 other politicians.
Habib Shartouni, a member of the
Syrian Social Nationalist Party
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP; ) is a Syrian nationalist party operating in Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. It advocates the establishment of a Greater Syrian nation state spanning the Fertile Crescent, including present-day Syria, Leb ...
, was later arrested for the assassination. He was imprisoned for 8 years, until Syrian troops took over Lebanon at the end of the war and freed him on 13 October 1990. Eventually, then-president Amine Gemayel, the brother of Bachir, did not condemn Shartouni because of immense Syrian pressure.
Units involved
Syrian forces entered Lebanon in 1976, one year after the Lebanese civil war began. Over the ensuing years, the Syrian military presence in Lebanon included up to 30,000 soldiers, although this number decreased over time as Syrian confidence in their intelligence and security control within Lebanon grew. The major formations in deployed in Lebanon were:
* 47th Armoured Brigade: Initially part of the 3rd Division and later associated with the 8th Division.
* 62nd Armoured Brigade: Originally a part of the 10th Division, often linked to the division's overall mechanised structure.
* 10th Mechanised Division which consisted of:
** 76th and 91st Armoured Brigades: Integral components of this division, contributing to its mechanised and armoured capabilities.
** 1 Mechanised Infantry Brigade: This division also included mechanised infantry elements to support armoured operations
** 1 Artillery Brigade: Provided essential artillery support for the division’s operations.
* Special Forces Regiments: Several elite units and regiments were deployed strategically to support regular army operation
* 1 Air Defense Brigade: Ensured protection against aerial threats.
Before 1984, a brigade of the
Defense Companies
The Companies for the Defense of the Revolution (; ), commonly referred to as Defense Companies, Defense Corps or Defense Brigades (; ), were a Syrian all-Alawite paramilitary force commanded by Rifaat al-Assad. Their task was to safeguard and d ...
was also deployed in
Beirut
Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...
,
Sidon
Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...
and
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 ...
to fight Sunni militias and train pro-Syrian militias. Officers of the Military Intelligence, General Security Directorate, and Air Force intelligence were tasked with Syria's administration in Lebanon.
Ghazi Kanaan
Ghazi Kanaan (; 1942 – 12 October 2005; also known by his nickname Abu Yo'roub) was a Syrian Officer (armed forces), military officer and intelligence chief who served as Syria's interior minister from 2004 to 2005. He was also the long-tim ...
and
Rustum Ghazaleh
Rustum Ghazaleh () also transl. from Arabic language, Arabic as Rostom Ghazale, Rustom Ghazalah, Rustom Ghazali; (3 May 1953 – 24 April 2015) was a Syria, Syrian military and intelligence officer.
Early life
Ghazaleh was born into a Sunni Isla ...
were the two intelligence officers who controlled Lebanon throughout this period.
Crimes
Forced disapperances
Numerous crimes and atrocities were perpetrated by the
Ba'athist Syrian military
The Syrian Arab Armed Forces (SAAF; ) were the combined armed forces of Syria from 1963 to 2024. They served during the rule of the Ba'ath Party in Syria.
The SAAF consisted of the Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Air Force, Syrian Arab Air Def ...
forces against the Lebanese population during the occupation period. Between 1976 and 2005, tens of thousands of Lebanese civilians were arbitrarily detained and
forcibly disappeared
An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the intent of placing ...
in
Ba'athist Syrian prison camps. The whereabouts of an estimated 30,000 of them remain unknown.
Special Tribunal for Lebanon
The
Special Tribunal for Lebanon
The Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), also referred to as the Lebanon Tribunal or the Hariri Tribunal, was a tribunal of international character that was active between 2009 and 2023. It applied Lebanese criminal law under the authority of ...
(STL) was established by the United Nations Security Council resolution 1757 in 2007, in response to the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister
Rafic Hariri
Rafic Bahaa El Deen al-Hariri (; 1 November 1944 – 14 February 2005) was a Lebanese businessman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Lebanon, prime minister of Lebanon from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004.
Hariri headed fi ...
and the deaths of 21 others in a bombing in downtown Beirut on February 14, 2005. The tribunal's mandate extended to other attacks linked to this event. Inaugurated in 2009, the STL operated independently, based in
The Hague
The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...
, Netherlands, and consisted of Lebanese and international judges. Despite using Lebanese law, it was not part of Lebanon’s judicial system nor a UN tribunal. Its creation was seen as essential due to the Lebanese judicial system's inability to handle such high-profile cases.
The tribunal’s notable achievements include the trial of Salim Jamil Ayyash, who received five concurrent life sentences in 2020. Hassan Habib Merhi and Hussein Hassan Oneissi were found guilty in 2022, reversing their previous acquittals. All three men remain at large. The STL faced numerous challenges, such as accusations of selective justice, inefficacy in enforcing arrests, and internal mismanagement. Despite substantial evidence, including testimonies from 297 witnesses and over 3,000 exhibits, the tribunal struggled with Lebanese non-cooperation and political resistance, particularly from
Hezbollah
Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...
, which hindered the tribunal’s effectiveness and credibility.
The tribunal’s 2,641-page judgment and various public documents aimed to provide transparency and accountability. Despite its mixed legacy, the STL was a significant step towards international criminal justice for terrorism. Its conclusion in 2023 marked an end to a complex legal and political chapter, leaving a significant, though contested, impact on the Lebanese and international legal landscape.
Political status
Analyzing whether and when the Syrian presence was a
military occupation
Military occupation, also called belligerent occupation or simply occupation, is temporary hostile control exerted by a ruling power's military apparatus over a sovereign territory that is outside of the legal boundaries of that ruling pow ...
under
international law
International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...
, Gerhard von Glahn writes that "The mandate of the Force was renewed several times before it officially expired on 27 July 1982, at the time of the Israeli
siege of Beirut
During the 1982 Lebanon War, the city of Beirut was besieged by Israel following the breakdown of the ceasefire that had been imposed by the United Nations amidst the Lebanese Civil War. Beginning in mid-June, the two-month-long siege resulted in ...
. The Lebanese government refused to request that the mandate be renewed by the
Arab League
The Arab League (, ' ), officially the League of Arab States (, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world. The Arab League was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945, initially with seven members: Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt, Kingdom of Iraq, ...
. Instead, in September 1986, Lebanon requested an end to the Syrian presence in Lebanon. It would appear that lacking legal authority from both Lebanon and the Arab League, Syria's military forces had to be regarded henceforth as illegal occupants of Lebanon."
Comparing Syrian occupation of Lebanon with the
Soviet occupations of Eastern Europe,
Professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...
of
Middle East Studies
Middle Eastern studies, sometimes referred to as Near Eastern studies, West Asian Studies or South Western Asian studies, is a name given to a number of academic programs associated with the study of the history, culture, politics, economies, an ...
Mordechai Nisan
Mordechai Nisan (; born 24 June 1947) is an Israeli professor and scholar of Middle East Studies at the Rothberg International School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He taught also at Bar-Ilan University, the Open University, and the Univers ...
writes:
"Throughout the modern history of the Arab world
The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...
, Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...
oppressed his Egyptian people, Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein (28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician and revolutionary who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 1979 until Saddam Hussein statue destruction, his overthrow in 2003 during the 2003 invasion of Ira ...
his Iraqi people, and Muammar Qaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi (20 October 2011) was a Libyan military officer, revolutionary, politician and political theorist who ruled Libya from 1969 until his assassination by Libyan rebel forces in 2011. He came to power ...
his Libyan people. But 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 ...
oppressed not only his Syrian people
Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...
but the Lebanese people
The Lebanese people ( / Romanization of Arabic, ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may also include those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains prior to the creation of the mod ...
as well. Dictatorship
A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...
was not an uncommon regime form, but a successful and long-term conquest was unusual. Egypt fought in Yemen (1963–67) and Iraq invaded Kuwait (1990), but only Syria occupied a fellow Arab country for thirty years... Stalinism
Stalinism (, ) is the Totalitarianism, totalitarian means of governing and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union (USSR) from History of the Soviet Union (1927–1953), 1927 to 1953 by dictator Jose ...
in Eastern Europe and Assadism
Assadism is a Far-left politics, far-left variant of the Neo-Ba'athism, neo-Ba'athist ideology based on the policies and thinking of the Assad family, which governed Ba'athist Syria, Syria as a Totalitarianism, totalitarian Dynasty, hereditary d ...
in Lebanon
Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...
offer certain similarities for consideration. Military invasion, political manipulation, and ideological co-optation supplied the means for the Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
to penetrate and dominate Eastern Europe; these were also methods employed by Syria against Lebanon. The common goal was the homogenization of thought and culture under centralized rule."
See also
*
Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon
The Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon lasted for eighteen years, from 1982 until 2000. In June 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in response to attacks from southern Lebanon by Palestinian militants. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) occupied the ...
*
Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon
The Palestinian insurgency in South Lebanon was a multi-sided armed conflict initiated by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) against Israel in 1968 and against Lebanese Front, Lebanese Christian militias in the mid-1970s. PLO's goal ...
*
Lebanon bombings and assassinations (2004–present)
Since 2004, a series of bombings and assassinations have struck Lebanon, most of them occurring in and around the capital, Beirut. This wave of bombings began with the assassination attempt on Marwan Hamadeh, then peaked with the assassination of ...
*
List of assassinated Lebanese politicians
This is a list of assassinations in Lebanon and nearby countries.
Pre-1970s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
See also
* Assassinations linked to the Cedar Revolution
* Lebanese Civil War
* Unit 121
References ...
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
External links
The Syrian Occupation of LebanonThe Syrian Occupation of LebanonPining for Freedom: Syrian occupation suffocates Lebanon, and the world shrugsEnding Syria's Occupation of Lebanon: The U.S. Role*
ttps://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/elections/syria.lebanon/ "SYRIA/LEBANON: The Occupied/Occupied" ''
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
FRONTLINE/World''
{{Syrian Civil War
1976 in Lebanon
1976 establishments in Lebanon
2005 disestablishments in Lebanon
1970s in Lebanon
1980s in Lebanon
1990s in Lebanon
2000s in Lebanon
20th century in Lebanon
Military operations of the Lebanese Civil War
Lebanon–Syria relations
Military occupations of Lebanon
Ba'athist Syria
Military history of Syria