National Salvation Front (Lebanon)

Last updated

The National Salvation Front was a Lebanese political alliance which was founded during the Lebanese civil war in opposition to Amine Gemayel's government and the agreed conditions of Israeli troop's withdrawal in 1983. [1] It was considered the parliamentary wing of the Lebanese National Resistance Front militia.

Contents

Background

With U.S. assistance, Israel and Lebanon reached an accord in May 1983, that set the stage to withdraw Israeli forces from Lebanon while letting them patrol a "security zone" together with the Lebanese Army. The agreement terminated the state of war between Israel and Lebanon that had lasted since the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and provided for a staged withdrawal of Israeli forces, on the condition of the establishment of a Lebanese Army "security zone" in South Lebanon along the border area. It contained numerous clauses detailing security cooperation between Lebanon and Israel designed to prevent the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and other groups from infiltrating the border areas. [2] This agreement was discussed in the Lebanese parliament in June 14 in which it was approved by 65 MPs and 2 members voted against. [3] Those abstained were Rashid Karami and former president Suleiman Frangieh who were close allies to the Syrian regime. [1] And one of those who objected was Walid Jumblatt, the leader of the Druze People's Liberation Army, due to the Lebanese Forces' presence in the Chouf and Aley regions in which they needed the assistance of the Syrian forces during conflict with the LF. [1]

Formation

On July 23, 1983, Walid Jumblatt announced that the National Salvation Front was formed in Baalbek and Ehden, headed by Franjieh, Karami and himself. [4] [5] The Lebanese Communist party, the Organization for Communist Action and the Syrian Social Nationalist party, who were members of the Lebanese National Movement which collapsed in the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of June 1982, joined the Front. And so did the Syrian Organization of the Baath party and the Arab Democratic Party. [1] [6] The political interests of the National Salvation Front did not deal with political or social reforms, but focused on the sole issue of the abrogation of the May 17 agreement. [1] [3]

Involvement in the Lebanese civil war

Mountain War

Fighting between the Druze PLA and LF and between the Druze and LAF, intensified during the month of August. Intense Druze PLA artillery shelling forced the Beirut International Airport to close between 10 and 16 August, and the Druze PSP/PLA leadership made explicit their opposition to the deployment of Lebanese Army units in the Chouf. [7] The U.S. Marines compound came under further Druze PLA shell-fire on 28 August, this time killing two Marines, which led the Marines to retaliate with their own artillery, shelling the Druze positions in the Chouf with 155mm high-explosive rounds. This incident marked the beginning of the shooting war for the U.S. military forces in Lebanon. [8] Although President Gemayel accused Syria of being behind the Druze shelling and threatened to respond accordingly, artillery duels between the LAF and Druze militias continued sporadically until a ceasefire came in effect on late August.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progressive Socialist Party</span> Political party in Lebanon

The Progressive Socialist Party is a Lebanese political party. Its confessional base is in the Druze sect and its regional base is in Mount Lebanon Governorate, especially the Chouf District. Founded by Kamal Jumblatt in 1949, the party was led by his son Walid Jumblatt between 1977 and 25 May 2023, on 25 June 2023 the son of Walid Taymur Jumblatt was officially consecrated as leader of the PSP.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lebanese Civil War</span> 1975–1990 conflict in Lebanon

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 also led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amine Gemayel</span> Eighth President of Lebanon

Amine Pierre Gemayel is a Lebanese politician who served as President of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walid Jumblatt</span> Lebanese politician (born 1949)

Walid Kamal Jumblatt is a Lebanese politician who was the leader of the Progressive Socialist Party from 1977 until 2023. A Druze and former militia commander, Jumblatt led the Lebanese National Resistance Front and allied with the Amal Movement during the Lebanese Civil War. He worked closely with Suleiman Frangieh to oppose Amine Gemayel's rule as president in 1983. After the civil war, he initially supported Syria but later led an anti-Assad stance during the start of the Syrian Civil War. He is still active in politics, most recently leading his party, the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) in the 2022 Lebanese general election.

The Taif Agreement, officially known as the National Reconciliation Accord, 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 year-long Lebanese Civil War, reassert Lebanese government authority in southern Lebanon, which was controlled at the time by the Christian-separatist South Lebanon Army under the occupational hegemony of Israel. Though the agreement set a time frame for withdrawal of Syrian military forces from Lebanon, stipulating that the Syrian occupation end within two years, Syria did not withdraw its forces from the country until 2005. It was signed on 22 October 1989 and ratified by the Lebanese parliament on 5 November, 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rashid Karami</span> Lebanese politician

Rashid Karami was a Lebanese statesman. He is considered one of the most important political figures in Lebanon for more than 30 years, including during much of the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), and he served as prime minister eight times, making him the most democratically elected prime minister in history according to the Guinness Book of World Records 2005. He was assassinated in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lebanese Forces</span> Lebanese Christian nationalist political party and former militia

The Lebanese Forces is a Lebanese Christian-based political party and former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's parliament and is therefore the largest party in parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chouf District</span> District in Mount Lebanon Governorate, Lebanon

Chouf is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate (muhafazat) of Mount Lebanon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multinational Force in Lebanon</span> International peacekeeping force in Lebanon from 1982 to 1984

The Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) was an international peacekeeping force created in August 1982 following a 1981 U.S.-brokered ceasefire between the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel to end their involvement in the conflict between Lebanon's pro-government and pro-Syrian factions. The ceasefire held until June 3, 1982 when the Abu Nidal Organization attempted to assassinate Shlomo Argov, Israel's ambassador to London. Israel blamed the PLO and three days later invaded Lebanon. West Beirut was besieged for seven weeks before the PLO acceded to a new agreement for their withdrawal. The agreement provided for the deployment of a Multinational Force to assist the Lebanese Armed Forces in evacuating the PLO, Syrian forces and other foreign combatants involved in Lebanon's civil war.

The May 17 Agreement of 1983 was an agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel during the Lebanese Civil War on May 17, 1983, after Israel invaded Lebanon to end cross border attacks and besieged Beirut in 1982. It called for the withdrawal of the Israeli Army from Beirut and provided a framework for the establishment of normal bilateral relations between the two countries. Lebanon was under both Israeli and Syrian military occupations during its negotiation.

Souk El Gharb, also spelled Suk, Sug al, ul, Suq), is a town located in the Aley District, Mount Lebanon Governorate, in Lebanon and its name translates to "Western Market".

The 4th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) was a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active from its creation in January 1983 until its destruction in September that year, in the wake of the Mountain War.

The 8th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active since its creation in January 1983.

The Mountain War, also known as the War of the Mountain, was a subconflict between the 1982–83 phase of the Lebanese Civil War and the 1984–89 phase of the Lebanese Civil War, which occurred at the mountainous Chouf District located south-east of the Lebanese Capital Beirut. It pitted the Christian Lebanese Forces militia (LF) and the official Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) against a coalition of the Druze Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and the PNSF's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC), Fatah al-Intifada and As-Sa'iqa backed by Syria. Hostilities began when the LF and the LAF entered the predominantly Druze Chouf district to bring back the region under government control, only to be met with fierce resistance from local Druze militias and their allies. The PSP leader Walid Jumblatt's persistence to join the central government and his instigation of a wider opposition faction led to disintegration of the already fragile LAF and the eventual collapse of the government under President Amin Gemayel.

On January 15, 1986, forces loyal to Lebanese president Amine Gemayel and Samir Geagea, intelligence chief of the Lebanese Forces (LF), ousted Elie Hobeika from his position as leader of the LF and replaced him with Geagea. The coup came in response to Hobeika's signing of the Syrian-sponsored Tripartite Accord that aimed to put an end to the Lebanese Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Liberation Army (Lebanon)</span> Military wing of the Druze Progressive Socialist Party

The People's Liberation Army – PLA, also known as the Armée populaire de libération (APL) in French or Forces of the Martyr Kamal Jumblatt, was the military wing of the left-wing Druze Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), which fought in the Lebanese Civil War. The PSP and its militia were members of the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) from 1975 to 1982.

The February 6 Intifada or February 6 uprising in West Beirut took place on 6 February 1984 during the Lebanese Civil War. It was a battle where the Shia Amal Movement and the Druze Progressive Socialist Party decisively defeated the Lebanese army and the Multinational Force present in Lebanon that supported it. It resulted in the collapse of the United States and Israel's influence in Lebanon, and the beginning of the War of the Camps.

Iqlim el-Kharrub is a geographic region in the western part of the Chouf District. Its inhabitants are mostly Sunni Muslims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Chouf region</span>

The Chouf region, also spelled Shouf, is a historical and geographical area located in the central part of Lebanon. Like much of Lebanon, the Chouf was inhabited by the Phoenicians, an ancient Semitic civilization known for their seafaring skills and trade. However, Evidence of inhabitance in the mountains dates back to the 5th century B.C.E. and archaeological evidence, consisting of Roman burial sites and pottery has proved a continuous inhabitation since 450 B.C.E.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Deeb, Marius. “Lebanon’s Continuing Conflict.” Current History, vol. 84, no. 498, 1985, pp. 13–34. JSTOR, JSTOR   45315428. Accessed 10 Sept. 2023.
  2. ↑ Text of the agreement
  3. 1 2 "The 17 May Agreement of 1983: A perfect failure". en.majalla.com. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  4. ↑ Ufheil-Somers, Amanda (1983-10-12). "Report from Lebanon". MERIP. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  5. ↑ Hijazi, Ihsan A.; Times, Special To the New York (1983-07-24). "3 LEBANON LEADERS FORM AN ALLIANCE FOR SEPARATE RULE". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2023-09-10.
  6. ↑ "Anti-Gemayel 'front' formed in Lebanon". The Milwaukee Journal. 23 July 1983. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  7. ↑ DoD commission on Beirut International Airport December 1983 Terrorist Act PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  8. ↑ Guest, Lebanon (1994), p. 110.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.