War of the Camps: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|1985–1988 subconflict during Lebanese Civil War}}

The '''War of the Camps''' was a subconflict within the [[Lebanese Civil War]] in which [[Palestinian]] refugee camps were besieged by the [[Shiite]] [[Amal Party (Lebanon)|Amal]] militia.

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}

{{multiple issues|

{{More citations needed|date=August 2011}}

{{lead too short|date=January 2013}}

}}

{{Infobox military conflict

Sometimes described as being Muslim versus Christian, the Lebanese Civil War was actually a multifaceted conflict in which there was nearly as much intraconfessional violence as there was violence between Muslims and Christians. The War of the Camps was one of several of these small wars fought between members of the same religion.

| conflict = War of the Camps

| partof = the [[Lebanese Civil War]] and [[Palestinian internal political violence]]

| date = May 1985 – July 1988

| image = Syrian troops in Beirut, Lebanon,.jpg

| caption = Syrian troops in Beirut during War of the Camps.

| place = [[Beirut]] and [[Southern Lebanon]]

| result = [[Amal Movement]] and Pro-[[Ba'athist Syria|Syrian]] allies Victory

| combatant1 = {{flagicon|PLO}} [[Palestine Liberation Organization|PLO]]

* [[Fatah]]

* [[Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine|DFLP]]

* [[Palestinian Liberation Front]]

'''Supported by''':

{{flagicon image|Flag of Mourabitoun.svg|22px}} [[Al-Mourabitoun]]<br>{{flag|Hezbollah}}<br>[[File:OACLsymbol.PNG|22px|border]] [[Communist Action Organization in Lebanon|CAOL]]<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.svg|22px}} [[Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon|SSNP-L]] (Anti-Syrian government faction)<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Progressive Socialist Party.svg|22px}} [[Progressive Socialist Party|PSP]] (1987)<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Lebanese Communist Party.svg|22px}} [[Lebanese Communist Party|LCP]] (1987)<br>

| combatant2 = [[File:Flag of the Amal Movement.svg|24px|border]] [[Amal Movement]]<br>

* [[Lebanese Resistance Regiments]]

[[File:Flag_of_the_Syrian_Social_Nationalist_Party.svg|24px|border]] [[Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon|SSNP-L]] {{small|(Pro-Syrian government faction)}}<br>

{{flagicon|Palestine}} [[Palestinian National Salvation Front|PNSF]]

* [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command|PFLP-GC]]

* [[Fatah al-Intifada]]

* [[As-Sa'iqa]]

'''Supported by''':

{{flagicon|Syria|1980}} [[Ba'athist Syria|Syria]]

* [[Syrian Arab Armed Forces|Syrian Army]]

{{flagicon|Lebanon|1943}} [[Lebanese Armed Forces|Lebanese Army]]

*[[6th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)|6th Infantry Brigade]]

*[[8th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)|8th Infantry Brigade]]

| commander1 = {{flagicon|PLO}} [[Yasser Arafat]]<br>{{flagicon|PLO}} [[Muhammad Zaidan|Abu Abbas]]<br>{{flagicon|PLO}} [[Nayef Hawatmeh]]<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of Mourabitoun.svg|22px}} [[Ibrahim Kulaylat]]<br>{{flagdeco|Hezbollah}} [[Abbas al-Musawi]]<br>[[File:OACLsymbol.PNG|22px|border]] [[Mohsen Ibrahim]]<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party.svg}} Inaam Raad<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Progressive Socialist Party.svg}} [[Walid Jumblatt]]<br>{{flagicon image|Flag of the Lebanese Communist Party.svg}} [[George Hawi]]<br>

| commander2 = [[File:Flag of the Amal Movement.svg|22px]] [[Nabih Berri]]<br>[[File:Flag_of_the_Syrian_Social_Nationalist_Party.svg|24px|border]] Isaam al-Mahayri<br>{{flagicon|Palestine}} [[Ahmed Jibril]]<br>{{flagicon|Palestine}} [[Said al-Muragha|Abu Musa]]<br>{{flagicon|Palestine}} [[Isam al-Qadi]]<br>{{flagicon|Syria|1980}} [[Hafez al-Assad]]<br>{{flagicon|Syria|1980}} [[Ghazi Kanaan]]<br> {{flagicon|Lebanon|1943}} [[Michel Aoun]]<br>{{flagicon|Lebanon|1943}} [[ Rashid Karami ]]<br>

| strength1 =

| strength2 =

| casualties1 =

| casualties2 =

| casualties3 = Between 4,500 and 6,500 dead

| image_size = 300px

}}

{{Campaignbox Lebanese Civil War}}

The '''War of the Camps''' ({{langx|ar|حرب المخيمات|Ḥarb al-Mukhayimat}}), was a subconflict within the [[Lebanese Civil War#Fourth phase (1984–1990)|1984–1990 phase of the Lebanese Civil War]], in which the [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]] [[Palestinian refugee camp]]s in [[Beirut]] were besieged by the [[Shia Islam in Lebanon|Shia]] [[Lebanese Resistance Regiments|Amal]] militia.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Lebanese Civil War, 1975–1990 |date=2020-01-09 |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/9781108762465.003 |work=Quagmire in Civil War |pages=54–91 |access-date=2023-03-16 |publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.1017/9781108762465.003 |isbn=9781108762465 |s2cid=152485333 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The War of the Camps was a struggle for control over [[Greater Beirut|West Beirut]] and was considered an extension of the political struggle between [[Ba'athist Syria|Syria]] and the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO). It took place between May 1985 and July 1988.

==Background==

{{main|Battle of Tripoli (1983)}}

During the [[1948 Arab-Israeli War]] and the subsequent [[Nakba]] (catastrophe) of the [[Palestinians|Palestinian]] people, hundreds of thousands of [[Palestinian refugees]] fled to [[Southern Lebanon]].<ref>{{Cite journal |date=October 2007 |title=Ahmad H. Sadi and Lila Abu-Lughod, editors. Nakba: Palestine, 1948, and the Claims of Memory. :Nakba: Palestine, 1948, and the Claims of Memory. (Cultures of History.) |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/ahr.112.4.1296c |journal=The American Historical Review |language=en |volume=112 |issue=4 |pages=1296 |doi=10.1086/ahr.112.4.1296c |issn=0002-8762|url-access=subscription }}</ref> A few Palestinians with skills and capital were allowed to reside in cities ; the majority, however were destitute peasants who could only offer their unskilled work to the Lebanese economy, and mostly lived in squalid [[refugee camp]]s near the main cities. Upon arriving in Southern Lebanon, the locals sympathized with their catastrophic conditions, and many were sheltered in [[Abd al-Husayn Sharaf al-Din al-Musawi|Abdul Husayn Sharaf ad-Dine]]'s ''al-Ja'fariyya'' school until the authorities dealt with the situation. Sharaf ad-Dine also introduced a Palestinian curriculum known as "Matriculation", to allow Palestinian students to finish what they had started in Palestine.<ref name="gharbieh"/> The sympathy was shared by the depopulatees of the [[Shia villages in Palestine]], many of whom were massacred.<ref name="gharbieh"/><ref>[[Odd Karsten Tveit|Tveit, Odd Karsten]] (2010) ''Goodbye Lebanon. Israel's First Defeat.'' Rimal Publication. Translated by Peter Scott-Hansen. {{ISBN|978-9963-715-03-9}}.</ref>

Even before the establishment of the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO) in 1964, exiled Palestinian intellectuals residing in Lebanon and other Arab countries began to form clandestine paramilitary groups in the late 1950s. In 1956, Sharaf ad-Dine's ''al-Ja'fariyya'' school organized a guerrilla group consisting of 25 Lebanese and Palestinian students with the sole purpose of launching strikes in Israel. {{Citation needed|date=March 2023}} Moreover, prior to the [[Cairo Agreement (1969)|Cairo Agreement]] in 1969, PLO's chairman [[Ahmad Shukeiri]] (1964–1967) had set up a PLO training camp in the southern village of [[Kafr Dunin]]. As such, pro-Palestinian sentiment among some Lebanese, in particular the Shiites, was high.<ref name="gharbieh">{{Cite thesis|url=http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/1521/|title=Political awareness of the Shi'ites in Lebanon: the role of Sayyid 'Abd al-Husain Sharaf al-Din and Sayyid Musa al-Sadr|last=Gharbieh|first=Hussein M.|publisher=Centre for Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of Durham|year=1996|___location=Durham|type=Doctoral|format=PDF}}</ref> However, this unconditional support was disrupted following clashes between the Palestinians and the Lebanese Army in April 1969. Israeli retaliation against Palestinian operations mostly affected the local civilians, and in 1970 had led to the migration of more than 50,000 from the south. Actions of rogue factions further contributed to the alienation of the locals, such as setting up checkpoints throughout [[Beirut]] and the South, actions which [[Musa Sadr]] denounced as unrepresentative of the mainstream PLO.<ref name="gharbieh"/>

Israel's [[1982 Lebanon War|second invasion of Lebanon in June 1982]] succeeded in driving thousands of Palestinian fighters under the command of PLO Chairman [[Yassir Arafat]] out of Southern Lebanon and West [[Beirut]]. Under international auspices, PLO forces were evacuated to northern Lebanon and re-settled in the port city of [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]]. By this time, however, Syrian President [[Hafez al-Assad]] proceeded to expel Arafat and the Palestinian factions allied to him from Lebanon. Israel's 1982 invasion led to its beginning a [[Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon|20-year-long occupation]] of a shallow fringe of southern Lebanon (10 to 15 kilometers) as a security zone for its border, allied with a local force - the [[South Lebanon Army]], which was originally purely Christian but gradually added local Shiites and Druze to its ranks. Meanwhile, with permission from Syria, Iran sent a contingent of [[Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps|Revolutionary Guards]] to Lebanon, tasked with amalgamating, reorganizing and building up the small Shiite religious factions into a new organization - [[Hezbollah]].

Assad sought to control both the PLO and Lebanon. He worried that Palestinian guerrilla activities would invite another Israeli invasion and that his minority [[Alawite]] regime in [[Sunni Islam|Sunni]]-majority Syria would be endangered by the advancement of the (mostly Sunni) Palestinians. Initially, the Syrian government encouraged its favoured Palestinian groups to compete for influence, facilitating the entrance of [[as-Sa'iqa]], [[PFLP-GC]], and the pro-Syrian dissident Fatah faction under Colonel [[Said al-Muragha]] (Abu Musa). However, Syria's allies were strong only in the areas controlled by the [[Syrian Army]], such as the [[Beqaa valley]]. In the areas beyond Syria's control, however, it soon became apparent that Palestinian organizations such as [[Fatah]], [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine|PFLP]] and [[DFLP]] had far stronger support.

Assad recruited Said al-Muragha to drive Arafat and his loyalist fighters out of Lebanon. Musa, himself a former member of Fatah, used Arafat's public willingness to negotiate with Israel as a pretext for war. In November 1983, Musa's [[Fatah al-Intifada]] (Fatah-Uprising) faction fought the Arafatist Fatah for a month at Tripoli, until Arafat once again was on his way to Tunisia by December. Unfortunately for Assad, Arafat's Fatah forces quietly returned to Lebanon over the next two years, ensconcing themselves in the many refugee camps in Beirut and the South.

As more Palestinians regrouped in the South, Assad's anxiety grew, as he did not want to give Israel a pretext for another invasion. This time, Assad recruited the more powerful Shia [[Lebanese Resistance Regiments|Amal Movement]] militia headed by [[Nabih Berri]] to dislodge Arafat's loyalists. Assad benefited from this alliance, which enabled him to exert a greater degree of control over Lebanese affairs through his local Lebanese allies. The benefit for Amal was revenge for decades of Palestinian arrogance and the opportunity of gaining further control over Shia-populated areas of Lebanon.

By mid-1985 Amal was also in conflict with the [[Druze in Lebanon|Druze]] [[Progressive Socialist Party]] (PSP) and its militia, the [[People's Liberation Army (Lebanon)|People's Liberation Army]] (PLA), led by [[Walid Jumblatt]] in the mountainous [[Chouf District|Chouf region]]. As Amal-PSP relations severely deteriorated, the Palestinian alliance with the Druze PSP was re-established. Unlike the majority of other Lebanese leftist militias, the [[Communist Action Organization in Lebanon]] (OCAL), led by Muhsin Ibrahim, refused to cooperate with Syria in its attempts to vanquish Arafat. This refusal brought the wrath of the Syrians on the OCAL, forcing them to operate underground from 1987 onwards.

==History==

===The war of the camps===

====Opposing forces====

Allied with the pro-Arafat [[Palestinian refugee camp]] militias were the Lebanese [[Al-Mourabitoun]], [[Sixth of February Movement]], [[Communist Action Organization in Lebanon]] (OCAL), [[Druze in Lebanon|Druze]] [[Progressive Socialist Party]] (PSP) and [[Kurdish Democratic Party (Lebanon)|Kurdish Democratic Party – Lebanon]] (KDP-L), who faced a powerful coalition of [[Lebanese Communist Party]] (LCP), and [[Shia Islam in Lebanon|Shia Muslim]] [[Lebanese Resistance Regiments|Amal movement]] militia forces backed by [[Ba'athist Syria|Syria]],<ref name="camps">Joe Stork, "[https://www.jstor.org/stable/3010810 The War of the Camps, The War of the Hostages]" in ''MERIP Reports'', No. 133. (June 1985), pp. 3–7, 22.</ref> the [[Lebanese Army]], and the anti-Arafat [[Fatah al-Intifada]], [[As-Sa'iqa]], [[Palestine Liberation Army]], and [[Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command]] (PFLP–GC) dissident Palestinian guerrilla factions.

Some Palestinian fighters were able to return to the camps via [[Cyprus]]. The journey involved paying substantial sums of money to the [[Lebanese Forces (militia)|Lebanese Forces militia]] who controlled the port at [[Jounieh]]. On 2 January 1987 the ferry from [[Larnica]] with 164 passengers was turned back by the [[Israeli Navy]]. The fighters were not arriving in large numbers; one estimate suggests 3-4,000 arrived in 1985.<ref>[[Middle East International]] No 291, 9 January 1987; Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters]]; [[Jim Muir]] pp.3-4 (paying of bribes and Israeli Navy); No 290, 19 December 1986; Godfrey Jansen pp.6-7 (number of fighters)</ref>

====April 1985====

The [[February 6 Intifada]] forced the [[Multinational Force in Lebanon|Multinational Force]] (MNF) to withdraw from [[Beirut]] in February–March 1984. Amal took control of West Beirut, establishing a number of outposts and checkpoints around the camps (mostly in Beirut, but also to the south). On 15 April 1985, an alliance of Amal, the PSP, and the [[Lebanese Communist Party]] (LCP) militia, the [[Popular Guard]], attacked the [[Al-Mourabitoun]], the main [[Sunni Islam in Lebanon|Sunni]] [[Nasserism|Nasserite]] militia and the closest ally of the PLO in Lebanon. The Al-Mourabitoun was vanquished after a week of street-fighting and their leader, [[Ibrahim Kulaylat]] sent into exile.<ref>William E. Smith, "Lebanon: A Country's Slow Death", ''Time'', April 29, 1985, p. 46.</ref>

====May 1985====

On 19 May 1985, heavy fighting erupted between Amal Movement and Palestinian camp militias for the control of [[Shatila refugee camp|Sabra and Shatila]] and [[Burj el-Barajneh]] camps in Beirut. Amal was supported by the predominantly Shia [[6th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)|Sixth Brigade]] of the [[Lebanese Army]] commanded by General [[Abd al-Halim Kanj]]<ref name="O'Ballance, 1998 p. 158">O'Ballance, ''Civil War in Lebanon'' (1998), p. 158.</ref> and by the 87th Infantry Battalion from the predominantly [[Maronite Christianity in Lebanon|Christian Maronite]] [[8th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)|Eighth Brigade]] loyal to General [[Michel Aoun]] stationed in East Beirut.<ref name="O'Ballance, 1998 p. 158"/><ref name="camps"/> Virtually all the houses in the camps were reduced to rubble.

In terms of sheer numbers, the Shi'ites outnumbered the Palestinians 5:1. Amal was heavily backed by Syria and indirectly supported by Israel, whereas the PLO did not enjoy much outside support. Amal also had the advantage over the PLO in terms of military equipment, especially artillery pieces and armored vehicles.<ref>Kassis, ''30 years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2003), pp. 63–65.</ref>

Although the PSP/PLA and LCP/Popular Guard joined forces with Amal in defeating the Al-Mourabitoun, they remained militarily neutral in the fight against the PLO. Despite prodding from Syria, these political parties and their respective militias contributed nothing more than verbally expressing support for Amal and demanding that Arafat step down. The PSP/PLA even allowed the PLO to station their artillery on Druze-controlled areas. This left Amal to do the work of dislodging the Arafat loyalists, with some help from Syria's anti-Arafat Palestinian allies, such as As-Sa'iqa, PFLP-GC and Fatah al-Intifada. The alliance between Amal and most of the pro-Syrian Palestinian groups eventually soured however, and clashes would later break out between them. While some dissident Palestinian commanders such as [[Ahmed Jibril]] and Abu Musa still supported Amal against the PLO, many anti-Arafat fighters battled Amal in defense of the camps.

On 30 May 1985, much of Sabra fell to its attackers. Amid Arab and Soviet political pressure on Syria and an emergency meeting of [[Arab League]] foreign ministers scheduled to discuss the issue on 8 June, Amal declared a unilateral [[ceasefire]] the next day. Despite this, lower-scale fighting continued. In Shatila, the Palestinians only retained the part of the camp centered around the mosque. Burj al-Barajneh remained under siege as Amal prevented supplies from entering or its population from leaving.

The death toll remains uncertain, but is likely to have been high. International pressures led to a ceasefire being signed between Amal and the [[Palestinian National Salvation Front]] on 17 June in [[Damascus]]. Sporadic clashes erupted again in September 1985.

====May 1986====

In the wake of the creation of the [[State of Israel]] in 1948 tens of thousands of Palestinians came to live in southern Lebanon. Palestinians with skills and capital were allowed to reside in cities and live dignified lives, those who could offer little to the Lebanese economy were kept into squalid refugee camps.

The situation remained tense and fighting occurred again between September 1985 and March 1986. Fighting broke out for a third time on 27 March 1986, coinciding with a rocket attack on [[Kiryat Shimona]]; it lasted for three days. In Sidon, Amal issued a stern warning to Palestinian factions who tried to reorganize in southern Lebanon. At the time it was estimated that there were more than 2,000 PLO fighters in Lebanon.<ref>Middle East International No 272, 4 April 1986. Godfrey Jansen p. 6</ref> Exactly one year after the first battle, on 19 May 1986, heavy fighting erupted again. Bolstered by newly received heavy weaponry (including Soviet-made artillery pieces<ref>Éric Micheletti, "Bataille d'Artillerie", ''RAIDS'' magazine (1989), p. 14.</ref> and [[T-54/55|T-55A]] tanks<ref>Kassis, ''30 years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2003), p. 65.</ref> loaned by Syria), Amal tightened its siege on the camps. Many ceasefires were announced but most of them did not last more than a few days.

====June 1986====

After the establishment of [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] Palestinians in Lebanon began to form paramilitary brigades in Lebanon which alienated the native population. These brigades would create roadblocks where regular Lebanese would be made to pay “tolls” to support the Palestinian cause. Beginning in the late 1960s, Palestinian groups also gradually turned South Lebanon into a de facto state of their own used for launching attacks on Israel. Although in time the Shiites of Lebanon would come to support the Palestinians in their struggle against Israel, while the PLO controlled South Lebanon, Lebanese Shiites resented the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, throughout [[Beirut|West Beirut]], Amal continued to suppress the remaining predominately Sunni, pro-Palestinian militias such as the small [[Nasserism|Nasserite]] [[Sixth of February Movement]] in June 1986. The PLO was also aided by [[Kurds in Lebanon|Lebanese-Kurdish]] fighters from the [[Kurdish Democratic Party (Lebanon)|Kurdish Democratic Party – Lebanon]] (KDP–L), who lived with their families alongside the Palestinians in the refugee camps. Many leftist Lebanese-Kurdish militants joined Palestinian guerrilla movements during the 1975-76 Lebanese civil war, and these militiamen now fought to protect their homes from Amal, as well as supporting their Palestinian comrades. The situation began to cool on 24 June 1986, when the Syrians deployed some of their [[Defense Companies (Syria)|Commando troops]], assisted by a special task-force of 800 [[Lebanese Armed Forces|Lebanese Army]] soldiers and Gendarmes from the [[Internal Security Forces]].<ref>O'Ballance, ''Civil War in Lebanon'' (1998), pp. 168–169.</ref>

====September 1986====

Israel had driven [[Yassir Arafat]] and thousands of Palestinian fighters out of Lebanon in 1982 but Arafat actually returned the next year, this time settling in [[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]]. By this time, however, [[Hafez al-Assad]] resolved to expel Arafat from Lebanon.

The tension due to this conflict was also present in the South, where the presence of Palestinian guerrillas in the predominantly Shia areas led to frequent clashes. The third and deadliest battle began on 29 September 1986, when fighting broke out around the [[Rashidieh]] camp in [[Tyre (Lebanon)|Tyre]] between [[Lebanese Resistance Regiments|Amal]] and locally based PLO groups. Amal surrounded and blockaded the camp, though some supplies arrived by sea. All the smaller Palestinian camps were destroyed and hundreds of homes set on fire. A thousand Palestinian men were kidnapped.<ref>Middle East International No 291, 9 January 1987; [[Jim Muir]] p.4</ref> By December 7,500 Palestinian civilians had fled from Tyre to Sidon which was not under Amal’s control. Thousands of others fled inland. Around 7,000 non-combatants remained in the camp.<ref>Middle East International No 290, 19 December 1986; Godfrey Jansen pp.6-7</ref> A month after the break-out of fighting in Tyre Amal laid siege to the camps in Beirut. On 24 November a force consisting of most of the Palestinian factions in Sidon launched an offensive against Amal positions in the Christian town of [[Maghdouché]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nofal |first=Mamdouh |url=http://www.mnofal.ps/en/books/maghdouche/ |title=Maghdouche |year=2006 |publisher=مواطن، المؤسسة الفلسطينية لدراسة الديمقراطية، |isbn=9950-312-27-2 |language=ar}}</ref> on the eastern hills of Sidon, in order to re-open the road to Rashidieh. In a week of fighting they managed to take control of most of the town.<ref>Middle East International No 289, 5 December 1986; [[Jim Muir]] pp.10-11</ref> During the offensive the [[Israel Air Force]] (IAF) launched several air strikes against Palestinian positions around the Sidon area. As before, the Arab League pressured both parties to stop the fighting. On 1 December King [[Fahd of Saudi Arabia]] is quoted as saying the attacks on the camps “wounded the Arabs everywhere”.<ref>Middle East International No 289; Muir pp.10-11</ref> A cease-fire was negotiated between Amal and pro-Syrian Palestinian groups on 15 December 1986, but it was rejected by Arafat's Fatah, who tried to appease the situation by giving some of its positions to the Al-Mourabitoun militia in exchange for supplies to the camps.

====February–April 1987====

Assad himself sought to control the PLO and Lebanon. Thus, Assad recruited [[Saeed Musa]], also known as Abu Musa, to drive Arafat out of the country which Assad hoped to dominate. Musa was a fellow Palestinian, he used Arafat’s public willingness to negotiate as a pretext for war. In November 1983, Musa fought Arafat’s faction for a month at Tripoli until Arafat once again was on his way to [[Tunisia]].

Following the disappearance of [[Terry Waite]], January 1987, the dynamics in Beirut changed. The return of global media organisations to the city led to attention being focused on the sieges of [[Bourj el-Barajneh]] and [[Shatila]].<ref>Middle East International No 294, 20 February 1987; [[Jim Muir]], pp. 3-4.</ref> Dr [[Children of the Siege|Pauline Cutting]], a British doctor in Bourj el-Barajneh, was amongst those who gave graphic descriptions, via radio telephone, of conditions in the camps. Deliverance of humanitarian aid of the [[UNRWA]] to the camps was severely restricted through the ongoing blockades of the Amal milita. Because of that, many [[Palestinian refugees]] suffered, lacking needed medical care and supplies.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Feldman |first=Ilana |title=Life lived in relief : humanitarian predicaments and Palestinian refugee politics |date=2018 |isbn=978-0-520-97128-8 |___location=Oakland, California |pages=171 |oclc=1043049820}}</ref> There had been no fresh food or medicines allowed in for eight weeks. On 13 February two trucks of supplies were allowed into Bourj el-Barajneh, but they were shelled on their arrival, six people were killed and twenty four wounded.<ref>Middle East International No 293, 6 February 1987; [[Jim Muir]], pp. 3-4.</ref> On 17 February [[Nabih Berri]], in Damascus, ordered an end to the sieges.

Simultaneously a major escalation of violence erupted in West Beirut, when the Druze PSP/PLA and Amal again turned against each other in what became known as the "War of the Flag". The conflict was started when a PSP/PLA fighter, acting on orders from their leader [[Walid Jumblatt]], walked to the Channel 7 TV station ([[French language|French]]: ''Télé Liban – Canal 7'') building in the [[Tallet el-Khayat]] sector at [[Msaytbeh, Beirut|Msaytbeh]] and replaced the [[Flag of Lebanon|Lebanese national flag]] hoisted there by the [[Druze|Druze five-coloured flag]],<ref>[[Odd Karsten Tveit|Tveit, Odd Karsten]] (2010) ''Goodbye Lebanon. Israel's First Defeat.'' Rimal Publication. Translated by Peter Scott-Hansen. {{ISBN|978-9963-715-03-9}} p. 158.</ref> which was interpreted by Amal militiamen as a deliberate act of provocation.<ref>Sex & Abi-Chahine, ''Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond'' (2021), p. 6.</ref> A new round of brutal fighting soon spread throughout western Beirut, and although Amal forces initially managed to restore the Lebanese national flag on the Channel 7 building, they were subsequently overpowered by an alliance of PSP/PLA, LCP/[[Popular Guard]] and SSNP militias, and driven out of large portions of West Beirut. On 21–22 February, the week of fighting was ended by the arrival in West Beirut of 7,000 [[Defense Companies (Syria)|Syrian Commando troops]] under the command of [[Major general]] [[Ghazi Kanaan]], assisted by Lebanese [[Internal Security Forces]] (ISF) gendarmes, who immediately closed over fifty militia "offices" and banned the carrying of weapons in public, detaining in the process many young men with beards suspected of being militiamen and began executing anyone found with unauthorised weapons.<ref>Middle East International No 295, 4 March 1987; Publishers [[Christopher Mayhew|Lord Mayhew]], [[Dennis Walters|Dennis Walters MP]]; [[Jim Muir]], pp. 3-5.</ref>

Unfortunately for Assad, Arafat’s Fatah forces crept back into Lebanon over the next two years, esconsing themselves in the many refugee camps in the South. This time, Assad recruited the more powerful Amal militia to dislodge Arafat’s loyalists.

An [[Fathallah barracks|incident on 24 February]] in which over twenty [[Hizbollah]] supporters were killed led to intense pressure on Syria from Iran and an end to the army’s advance into the Southern suburbs, [[Dahieh]], with its 800,000 Shia residents.<ref>Middle East International No 296, 20 March 1987; Jim Muir pp.6-7</ref><ref>Tveit pp.163-164 estimate of population of Dahieh</ref> Shortly afterwards Syria troops took over positions around the camps and began allowing medicines into them. Women were allowed to leave to find food. Men were not.<ref>Middle East International No 295, 4 March 1987; Jim Muir pp.3-5; No 297, 3 April 1987; Jim Muir pp. 6-7.</ref><ref>''Saving a City from Itself'', TIME Magazine, 9 March 1987.</ref> It was estimated that there were 200 [[PLO]] fighters remaining in [[Shatila]] Camp and 700 in [[Bourj el-Barajneh]]. There were around 20,000 non-combatants. During the last bout of fighting around 240 people were killed and 1,400 wounded, many of the casualties were in the Shia districts which were shelled from the [[Chouf]].<ref>Middle East International No 298, 17 April 1987; Godfrey Jansen pp.3-4</ref>

The benefit for Assad of this alliance was more complete control of Lebanon. The benefit for Amal was 1. revenge for decades of Palestinian arrogance 2. further control of Lebanon.

==Consequences==

By 1985 Amal was also in conflict with [[Druze]] militias in the Shouf region of Lebanon. The Palestinians were allied to the Druze.

Internal fighting had happened before in the Muslim/leftist camp (the former [[Lebanese National Movement]] or LNM) but never on such a massive scale. This inflicted a severe blow in terms of public image for many Muslim militias and destroyed the perception of unity. The main Lebanese Sunni militia, the Al-Mourabitoun, was crushed and their leader [[Ibrahim Kulaylat]] sent into exile. The results were mitigated since the PLO retained control of some of the camps.

At the end of the war, an official Lebanese government report stated that the total number of casualties for these battles was put at 3,781 dead and 6,787 injured in the fighting between Amal and the Palestinians. Furthermore, the number of Palestinians killed in inter-factional clashes between pro-Syrian and pro-Arafat organizations was around 2,000. The real number is probably higher because thousands of Palestinians were not registered in Lebanon and the blockade meant that no officials could access the camps, so that all the casualties could not be counted.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sune |first=Haugbolle |date=25 October 2011 |title=THE HISTORIOGRAPHY AND THE MEMORY OF THE LEBANESE CIVIL WAR |url=https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/fr/document/historiography-and-memory-lebanese-civil-war.html#:~:text=In%20the%20struggle%20for%20control,(Brynen%201990%3A%20190). |access-date=15 March 2023 |website=Sciences Po}}</ref> As the Amal-initiated "War of the Camps" against the PLO ended, the religiously oriented Hezbollah and its rival the essentially secular Amal began clashing in South Lebanon and in Beirut's southern suburbs over control of the Shiite population of Lebanon.

==The Events==

==See also==

The War of the Camps began in May 1985 Amal began to seal off refugee camps, including Sabra and Shatila, in [[Beirut]], and began shelling. Virtually all the houses in the camps were reduced to rubble and the inhabitants were reduced to eating rats, dogs, and cats. There were even requests made to religious authorities for permission to eat the dead. Death tolls are imprecise, but many thousands died. In all likelihood the death toll was higher than in the better known [[Phalange]] [[Sabra and Shatila massacre]].

* [[Lebanese Resistance Regiments|Amal Movement]]

* [[Lebanese Armed Forces|Lebanese Army]]

* [[Lebanese Civil War]]

* [[List of weapons of the Lebanese Civil War]]

* [[Internal Security Forces]]

* [[Sabra and Shatila massacre]]

* [[Mountain War (Lebanon)]]

* [[People's Liberation Army (Lebanon)]]

* [[War of Brothers]]

* [[6th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)]]

* [[8th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)]]

==Notes==

The most intense fighting took place in 1985, but continued for three years.

{{Reflist|2}}

==References==

In ''Pity the Nation'' Robert Fisk quotes a fellow ''Times of London''

{{refbegin|30em}}

correspondent:

* [[Edgar O'Ballance]], ''Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92'', Palgrave Macmillan, London 1998. {{ISBN|0-333-72975-7}}

* Éric Micheletti and Yves Debay, ''Liban – dix jours aux cœur des combats'', RAIDS magazine n.º41, October 1989 issue. {{ISSN|0769-4814}} (in [[French language|French]])

* Samer Kassis, ''30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon'', Beirut: Elite Group, 2003. {{ISBN|9953-0-0705-5}}

* Moustafa El-Assad, ''Civil Wars Volume 1: The Gun Trucks'', Blue Steel books, Sidon 2008. {{Listed Invalid ISBN|9953-0-1256-8}}

* Rex Brynen, ''Sanctuary and Survival: the PLO in Lebanon'', Boulder: Westview Press, Oxford 1990. {{ISBN|0 86187 123 5}} – [https://prrn.mcgill.ca/research/papers/brynen2.htm]

* Joe Stork, ''The War of the Camps, The War of the Hostages'', ''MERIP Reports'', No. 133 (June 1985), pp.&nbsp;3–7 and 22.

* [[Robert Fisk]], ''Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War'', London: Oxford University Press, (3rd ed. 2001). {{ISBN|0-19-280130-9}} – [https://books.google.com/books?id=VrXpeELOUNsC&pg=PA145]

* ''The War of the Camps'', ''Journal of Palestine Studies'', Vol. 16, No. 1 (Autumn, 1986), pp.&nbsp;191–194.

*Zachary Sex & Bassel Abi-Chahine, ''Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond'', Modern Conflicts Profile Guide Volume II, AK Interactive, 2021.

{{refend}}

===Further reading===

:The destruction of Sabra is so great that few not living below ground can have survived. The way in which Amal and the Palestinians fought in the corridors of the hospital for the old in Sabra while the patients were still there indicates that neither side cares too much for civilians caught in crossfire. The way in which the Palestinians build their houses over the bunkers must make civilian casualities inevitable. But they want it both ways. If you ask how many fighters they have they say all Palestinians are fighters, men, women, and children. But then they yell if a woman or child gets killed. (610)

{{refbegin|30em}}

*Antoine J. Abraham, ''The Lebanon war'', Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996. {{ISBN|0-275-95389-0}} – [https://books.google.com/books?id=pk2GxcpojakC&dq=lebanese+arab+army&pg=PA38]

*Barry Rubin (editor), ''Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis'', Middle East in Focus, Palgrave Macmillan, London 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-349-37326-0}} – [https://books.google.com/books?id=9V_JAAAAQBAJ&dq=maronite+league&pg=PA40]

* Denise Ammoun, ''Histoire du Liban contemporain: Tome 2 1943–1990'', Éditions Fayard, Paris 2005. {{ISBN|978-2-213-61521-9}} (in [[French language|French]]) – [https://books.google.com/books?id=aGHk5M0CGcoC&pg=PT234]

* 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 language|French]]) – [http://www.111101.net/Writings/Author/Fawwaz_Traboulsi/]

*Fawwaz TrabouIsi, ''War, Militias and the State: The Role of War in State and Society Transformation – the Lebanese Case'', Paper presented at the workshop on "War as a Source of State and Social Transformation in the Middle East", Social Science Research Council, Paris, 2–4 November 1994, pp.&nbsp;1–26. – [http://isites.harvard.edu/fs/docs/icb.topic572311.files/Mon%20Jul%2020%20-1/Trabulsi.pdf]{{Dead link|date=July 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

* Fawwaz Traboulsi, ''A History of Modern Lebanon: Second Edition'', Pluto Press, London 2012. {{ISBN|978-0745332741}}

*Jean Sarkis, ''Histoire de la guerre du Liban'', Presses Universitaires de France - PUF, Paris 1993. {{ISBN|978-2-13-045801-2}} (in [[French language|French]])

*Samir Kassir, ''La Guerre du Liban: De la dissension nationale au conflit régional'', Éditions Karthala/CERMOC, Paris 1994. {{ISBN|978-2865374991}} (in [[French language|French]])

*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.&nbsp;1–53. – [http://www.aub.edu.lb/fas/ife/Documents/downloads/series3_2003.pdf] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810005110/http://www.aub.edu.lb/fas/ife/Documents/downloads/series3_2003.pdf |date=10 August 2017 }}

*Oren Barak, ''The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society'', State University of New York Press, Albany 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-7914-9345-8}} – [https://books.google.com/books?id=JM1xpHXZumAC&dq=lebanese+arab+army&pg=PA100]

* Itamar Rabinovich, ''The war for Lebanon, 1970-1985'', Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London 1989 (revised edition). {{ISBN|978-0-8014-9313-3}}, 0-8014-9313-7

{{refend}}

==External links==

The siege of the camps ended in 1988 because Amal needed to divert resources to its gunbattles with [[Hezbollah]]. Also, the [[Intifada]] in the West Bank renewed the Palestinian issue as a pan-Arab cause. [[Nabih Berri]], the leader of Amal, who until that time that been trying to kill Palestinians, announced “Amal has decided to lift its military siege around the camps as a gift to our brothers in the [[West Bank]] and [[Gaza Strip]].”

*[http://armeelibanaise.kazeo.com/ Histoire militaire de l'armée libanaise de 1975 à 1990] (in [[French language|French]])

* {{usurped|1=[https://archive.today/20121209065015/http://www.liberty05.com/civilwar/civil87.html Lebanese Civil War The combat returned to Beirut in 1987]}}, with Palestinians, leftists, and Druze fighters allied against Amal, eventually drawing further Syrian intervention.

{{Massacres against Palestinians}}

Later, in the summer of 1988, Abu Musa returned to the camps. Another 127 people were killed before Fatah surrendered. The camp wars ended in July 1988, by which time only seven families were left.

[[Category:HistoryConflicts ofin Lebanon1985]]

[[Category:Conflicts in 1986]]

[[Category:Conflicts in 1987]]

[[Category:Conflicts in 1988]]

[[Category:Battles of the Lebanese Civil War]]

[[Category:War crimes in the Lebanese Civil War]]

[[Category:1985 in Lebanon]]

[[Category:1986 in Lebanon]]

[[Category:1987 in Lebanon]]

[[Category:Wars involving Hezbollah]]

[[Category:Wars involving the Palestine Liberation Organization]]

[[Category:Beirut in the Lebanese Civil War]]

[[Category:1980s crimes in Beirut]]

[[Category:Anti-Palestinian sentiment in Lebanon]]