16 May 23-25 May ment falls.
SEPTEMBER 1975 negotiated by Drift.
JANUARY 1976 JANUARY-FEBRUARY 1976 4 January units blockade camps of scale.
18 January Phalangists 19 January 26 February to give this up MARCH 1976 11 March 20 March 25 March MAY-JUNE 1976 8 May Phalangist militia ambush Palestinian bus killing 27 Palestinians and triggering Lebanese Government resigns. Military government formed. Spontaneous mass demonstrations break out. Lebanese left takes initiative. GovernSinai Accords between Israel and Egypt, Kissinger, remove military threat of Egypt to the Zionist Syrian prospects threatened, opening up Egyptian/Syrian Palestinian tole in war i waged by medley of left organisations on one side and Phalangist militia units on the other. PLO participation restrained and based on cooperation with Lebanese Government to arrange ceasefires.
sult of concerted reactionary assaults. Syria decides its own interests dictate direct involvement in Lebanon. Phalangists and other Christian militia Palestinian Tel-Al-Zaatar and JIS-AlPasha. PLO enters fighting on larger commit 'Qarantina Massacre' of entire Moslem suburb. 5-8,000 Palestine Liberation Army troops under Svrian control enter Lebanon. The PLA is a Syrian trained all-Palestinian Salah Khalaf (second in command of Fatah after Arafat) reasserts PLO's position: We do not want anything from Lebanon, not even our activity from the south of the country ....
What we really want is to be allowed to exercise our political and information activities in Lebanon.' Left-Palestinian axis gains. Syrian intervention on behalf of President Franjieh. Army rebellion led by Ahmed Al-Khatib leads to formation of 'Army of Arab Lebanon' which sides with the leftist coalition. Collapse of organised government.
General Ahdab attempts coup demanding resignation of President Franjieh, who refuses and takes refuge in pres!dential palace. Ahdab operation collapses and Syria supports Franjieh.
SEPTEMBER 1975 - End of first stage of civil war prim sive ousting Phalangists from Holiday Inn on the following day.
Franjieh, driven out of presidential palace, takes refuge in right-wing stronghold of Junieh. Syria uses PLA to intervene on behalf of Franjieh.
Syria blockades Lebanese ports preventing arms and supplies to left. Syrian soldiers dressed as members of Palestinian organisation of 'Saiqa' enter Lebanon Heavy fighting. Christian forces make appeals to Syrians who send armoured regiments of regular Syrian troops. ect Syrian military intervention follows decision by Assad to extend UN forces mandate on the Golan. Despite fierce resistance from the Palestinians, the left coalition begins gradual military retreat, bringing to an end the second stage of the civil war characterised by relative advance of the Left-Palestinian coalition.
Syrian-sponsored Elias Sarkis, governor of Bank of Lebanon, is elected successor to President Franjieh.
Syrian troop and tank reinforcements refugee JULY-AUGUST 1976 12 August offenDirSyrian army launches all-out offensive to control approaches to mountain ranges in East and North-East. Heavy losses for Syrians in Sidon. rian advance stopped 12 miles from BeiTUL Libyan keeping' force arrives in Beirut. Franjieh and Christian-Right oppose Arab Lea gue intervention.
Arab League attempts fail. Heavy fighting erupts. Iraq puts pressure Syria's eastern flank.
Libyan mediator Jalloud announces seven-point agreement between and Palestinians. Its basis: limited Sy rian withdrawal with Syrian troops being replaced by Arab League troops. Simul taneously Jalloud admits Libyan contin gent of Arab League force is token, composed of 'tens of men'.
Christian-Right forces launch all-out offensive in Beirut and against Palestinian camps of Tel-Al-Zaatar and Jisr-AlPasha. Offensive coincides with beginning of Syrian withdrawal from outskirts Beirut in accordance point agreement.
Heaviest artillery bombardment of entire war falls on besieged camps. Right wing threatening liquidation of Palestinian-Left respond camps fall they will wage an 'all-out war'. Phalangists join other right-wing forces in battle for refugee camps. Syrians send in another tank column and 4,000 troops to Lebanon. They launch a combined offensive with the right wing against Palestinian-Left positions.
Jisr-Al-Pasha falls, iod of uninterrupted military defeats for Palestinian and Left forces.
The battle for Tel-Al-Zaatar becomes focus of war. Original of this refugee camp was middle of July it has been reduced to about 10,000.
After bitter siege and heroic stand of the Palestinian resistance, the camp falls.
Beirut and Sypremier alloud mediates 'Token' Arab League 'peaceSyria 1976 sevensurrender, inhabitants. that if the inaugurating a perpopulation 40,000.
Place SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER 1976 15 September Stem vis-a-vis Israel. 23 September shing. 27 September 28 September tember. New defeats. 12 October of Beirut. 15 October 16 October 17-18 OCTOBER 1976 These 19 OCTOBER-15 Uneasy NOVEMBER areas around Beirut, 19-24 October whose 25 October Men. lau troops 26 October to appear. 27 October 26 OCTOBe draw from strategic transferred to the south. 29 October 2 November cept Torce.
return to south.
AT venoel wards a 15 November derenders Palestinian-Left defeats continue uninterruptedly culminating in Syrian cease fire and Riyadh Arab summit.
Reports of build-up of Syrian network of SAM-6 and -7 missile systems in western Bekaa region of Lebanon, 13 miles from Israeli border, filling up an impor tant gap in Syria's missile detence sysElias Sarkis inaugurated president following several weeks of political skirmiMilitary clashes escalate in Beirut opening up new round of fighting Syrian army launches offensive on Palestinian-Left positions in the mountainous region east of Beirut. At least three key towns fall to the Syrians by 30 SepAround of Syrian-Pales tinian negotiations follow upon these Syrian army launches another offensive on Palestinian-Left positions south-east Saudi Arabia calls for Arab mini-summit in Riyadh following Egyptian threat to intervene militarily in Lebanon. Syrians announce a ceasefire. Hard pressed Palestinians welcome summit. The Riyadh Arab summit results in: formal Egyptian-Syrian rapprochement; decision to increase Arab League forces to 30,000 on the understanding Syrian troops would make up half the 'peacekeeping force'; strict Palestinian adherence to 1969 Cairo Accords including restrictive amendments disarming Palestinians outside the camps and limiting them to small arms inside terms imply Palestinian con. cessions on critical question of withdrawal of Syrian troops as precondition to final settlement of civil war. PLO leaders present the summit results as a setback for Syrian intentions in the civil war. Syria sees the summit as an Arab endorsement of its policy.
Christian leaders express reservations period of implementation of Riyadh summit results. Israeli-Right collusion in south of Lebanon. Opening up of rift in relations between Syrians and Christian-Right. Change in Syrian tac tics vis-a-vis Palestinians, who start to evacuate forces from strategic mountain weakening disastrously the position of their left allies. Christian forces in south backed by Israelis launch offensive capturing strategic town of Marjeyoun. Israelis donate tanks and artillery to Christian forces, new found strength in regior undermines implementation of 1969 Cairo Accords, and therefore the results of the Riyadh mini-summit.
Full scale summit of Arab heads of state endorses Riyadh summit agree condemns the agreement.
Meanwhile war in south of Lebanon escalates with mass exodus of population and more direct intervention by Israeli Syria decides to allow Palestine to open supply lines to south of Lebanon. Christian-Right leaders deny cooperation with Israel, but signs of rift with Syria begin Syria allows Palestinian reinforcements to enter Bekaa valley on way to south of Israeli spokesmen state their opposition to return of Palestinian guerillas to south of Lebanon. Palestinians begin to withsareds around Sidon in accordance with Riyadh summit decisions. Lebanon left weakened. Palestinian military spokesmen declare two-thirds of their forces have been Syrians redirect some rocket batteries onto Christian-Right positions.
Christian-Right leaders appear to ac principle of Arab Leaque troops entering territories held by them. New reports state that Syrian troops will constitute 75% of Arab League Uneasy truce in south prevails with Right refusing to allow Palestinian Egyptian official states: The Palestinians will do nothing to upset the peace plan by provoking Israel'. Israeli Government officially states for the first time that the PLO may be set on a course topeaceful settlement. Syrian troops which had entered Beirut on 10 November begin to disarm the militias and take down the barricades. The situa tion in the south remains uneasy.
Svrian troops completely occupy the