The War of Liberation (Arabic: حرب التحرير) was a sub-conflict within the final phase of the Lebanese Civil War between 1989 and 1990, in which the Lebanese Army loyal to General and Prime Minister Michel Aoun, appointed by previous President Amine Gemayel and headquartered in eastern Beirut, fought against the western Beirut-based Syrian Armed Forces and the Lebanese Army loyal to President Elias Hrawi and Prime Minister Salim el-Hoss, appointed by the Taif Agreement. Aoun launched several offensives against the Lebanese Forces in an attempt to establish his authority over East Beirut. The conflict culminated on 13 October 1990, when the Syrian Army stormed Baabda Palace and other strongholds of Aoun, killing hundreds of Lebanese soldiers and civilians and ousting Aoun, marking the end of the Lebanese Civil War. Aoun survived and moved to France to live in exile.
Background
The Lebanese Civil War began in 1975, and in 1976 Syria began an occupation of parts of Lebanon. In 1989, various Lebanese Factions signed the Taif Agreement in an attempt to end the Civil War, but Michel Aoun opposed the agreement, since it did not provide a deadline for the withdrawal of Syrian troops.
Leaders involved
In East Beirut, Aoun's provisional government consisted of himself (prime minister), Colonel Issam Abu Jamra (Greek Orthodox), and Brigadier General Edgar Maalouf (Greek Catholic). President Gemayel's decree, signed 15 minutes before his term expired, on 22 September 1988, also included three Muslim ministers (Sunni, Shiite, Druze), but all three rejected the posts and immediately resigned. Despite this, Aoun insisted he was the legal Prime Minister.
In West Beirut, Hrawi's government consisted of a cabinet equally divided between Christians and Muslims, with el-Hoss as Prime Minister. The Commander-in-chief of the LAF, General Émile Lahoud, had been appointed on 28 November 1989. In March 1990, the cabinet selected General Elie Hayek as commander of the Mount Lebanon region.
The Lebanese Forces (LF) - headed by Samir Geagea - were headquartered in La Quarantaine (directly bordering Achrafieh from the East), and were in control of East Beirut, the coastal Metn and Baabda. They held the entire districts (cazas) of Keserwan, Jbeil, Bcharri, and parts of Batroun, Koura, and Zgharta.
Events
War begins
On 15 February 1989 General Aoun launched an offensive, with those Lebanese Army Brigades loyal to him (30% of whom were Sunni),Middle East International No 347, 31 March 1989, Publishers Lord Mayhew, Dennis Walters MP; Jim Muir pp.3,4 against Geagea's Lebanese Forces (LF) positions around Christian East Beirut. At the time it was estimated that Aoun's portion of the army amounted to 16,000 men, while the LF had 10,000; both sides were equipped with tanks and heavy artillery.Hirst, David (2010) Beware of Small States. Lebanon, battleground of the Middle East. Faber and Faber. p.210 Nine days later, 24 February, with seventy people killed and the intervention of the Maronite Patriarchate, the LF agreed to hand over to Aoun control of Beirut's port's fifth basin with its estimated $300,000 per month tax revenue. Suleiman Frangieh, in the north, also returned control of Ras Salaata port in Batroun DistrictMiddle East International No 345, 3 March 1989; Jim Muir pp.8,9 The following month Aoun launched a blockade against the unregulated seaports south of Beirut at Jieh and Khalde. On the 8th of March 1989, Aoun's patrol boats intercepted a boat heading for PSP controlled port at Jieh. This precipitated a series of indiscriminate artillery barrages, with Amal shelling East Beirut harbour and Jounieh port, and Aoun's army brigades shelling Souq El Gharb. On the 12 March Aoun ordered the closure of Beirut International Airport and two days later launched an hour long bombardment of West Beirut which killed 40 civilians.Middle East International No 346, 17 March 1989; Jim Muir pp.6,7 At the end of the month Aoun announced a ceasefire with the issue of the militia-run ports unresolved. The area had seen the worst violence for three years with over 90 people killed and several hundred wounded.Middle East International No 390, 21 December 1990; Jim Muir p.12
Aoun under siege In April 1989, as General Aoun continued to blockade the militia sea-ports South of Beirut, the Syrian Army and their proxy militia, the Druze PSP, began intermittent shelling of Beirut harbour and the ports at Jounieh and Byblos. Simultaneously the Arab League was making intense efforts to establish a truce between Aoun and Syria. On the 4 April Kuwait's Foreign Minister flew to Damascus for talks. On 19 April twenty-three Christian Members of Parliament called for a cease fire. Ignoring this appeal the Lebanese Forces (LF) in East Beirut joined in the exchanges of fire. At the start of the month there was a massive fire at a fuel depot in Dora, close to Beirut harbour. The sound of one of the liquid gas containers exploding was heard 40km away in Sidon. Civilians had begun to leave both sides of Beirut. It was reported that 10,000 Beirut residents had arrived in Limasol in the six weeks to the end of April.Middle East International No 348, 14 April 1989; Jim Muir p.7. No 349, 28 April 1989; Jim Muir p.9 The Arab League called for a three month truce and an end of the ports blockade but continued shelling of East Beirut by the PSP ensured that the truce did not hold and the exchanges of fire grew in intensity.Middle East International No 350, 12 May 1989; Jim Muir pp.6,7 On 16 May 1989 Grand Mufti Hassan Khaled, spiritual leader of Lebanon's Sunni Muslims, was assassinated while being driven through Beirut by a car bomb which killed at least 20 other people.Middle East International No 351, 26 May 1989; Jim Muir pp.11,12
By late June Aoun's gunners were launching barrages against Syrian positions which lasted for 5–7 hours. The area under his control was blockaded by land and sea. In June an oil tanker was destroyed off Jouneh.Middle East International No 353, 23 June 1989; Godfrey Jansen pp.9,10 The Arab League peace initiative, led by Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Morocco, managed to get Iraq to stop selling weapons to Aoun and the following month a shipment of 50 Frog missiles was intercepted in Aqaba. On 4 July a truce allowed the opening of the crossings between East and West Beirut for the first time in three months. The airport remained closed because of the threat of Aoun's guns and two Syrian frigates were maintaining the blockade. Daily shelling continued, mostly from Syrian positions. The electricity supply in the city was reduced to one hour a day and there was an acute shortage of fuel.Middle East International No 354, 7 July 1989; Jim Muir pp.6-7. No 355, 21 July 1989; Jim Muir p.3-4.
On 17 July the LF joined forces with Aoun to launch a blitz on West Beirut in which ‘scores’ were killed. With nightly artillery exchanges continuing the Arab League announced on 31 July that they had ended their efforts to end the conflict. On 10 August the Syrians launched a massive artillery offensive on targets in the Christian enclave, culminating three days later in a PSP ground offensive against Aoun's positions in Souq El Gharb overlooking the palace at Baabda and the Ministry of Defence at Yarze. The attack failed with 20–30 PSP men killed. Aoun's forces retaliated by bombarding Syrian positions in the Beqaa Valley. Two weeks later, 29 August, the Sun Shield, a Danish registered fuel tanker was hit by shellfire, caught fire and sank in Jouneh bay. Nine crew members were killed.Middle East International No 358, 8 September 1989; Jim Muir pp.6-829 August 1989
It was estimated that by this time only between 10% and 15% of the civilian population remained in Beirut. There had been no water or electricity for two weeks.Middle East International No 356, 4 August 1989; Jim Muir p.6. No 357, 25 August 1989; Jim Muir pp.3-4
On 6 September 1989, without prior announcement American Ambassador John Thomas McCarthy and 29 staff were airlifted out of the US embassy in Aoun's enclave. Police counts for the previous six months gave 828 people killed and 2,455 wounded.Middle East International No 359, 22 September 1989; Jim Muir p10; Donald Neff p.6
In September 1989 Saudi Arabia presented a seven-point peace plan which Aoun accepted and on 22 September a cease fire was announced and Beirut airport was re-opened having been closed for six months.Middle East International No 359, 22 September 1989; Jim Muir p.9. No 360, 6 October 1989 Jim Muir pp.6-7 People began returning to the city and schools re-opened on 10 October. The Syrian blockade of fuel for the city's power station in the Christian enclave meant there was only electricity for two hours a day.Middle East International No 361, 20 October 1989; G.H. Jansen p.4 Meanwhile sixty-two members of parliament, half Christian and half Muslim, were meeting in Taif. After three weeks of negotiations they came to an agreement which Aoun rejected on 22 October. Dany Chamoun, one of Aoun's loyal supporters, was in favour of the deal. George Saadeh, leader of the Kataeb Party (the political wing of the LF), had been one of the key Christian negotiators in Taif.Middle East International No 362, 3 November 1989; Jim Muir pp.3-5Middle East International No 363, 17 November 1989; Jim Muir pp.4–5 In an attempt to derail the Taif timetable, on 3 November, Aoun announced that he was dissolving parliament and tens of thousands of his supporters took to the streets. Thousands gathered around the Presidential palace in Baabda and a large group invaded the Maronite headquarters in Bkerké where they abused the Patriarch, Nasrallah Sfeir. Geagea sent two hundred LF militiamen to protect the Kataeb radio station, Voice of Lebanon. On 5 November an assembly of members of Parliament, including thirty arriving from exile in Paris, met in Qoleiat air base North Lebanon, and elected René Moawad as President. He was recognised by the International Community as the legitimate President of Lebanon but was killed by a car bomb seventeen days later. Twenty-three other people were killed in the explosion. During December thousands remained encamped in Baabda acting as a human shield around Aoun.Middle East International No 365, 15 December 1989; Jim Muir pp.7,8
War of Elimination