Syrian Chronicals 1973-1990





August 26, 1973: As a prelude to igniting the war Syrian President Hafez Assad announces that Lebanon and Syria are one country and one people but with two governments.
September 10, 1975: El Saaka Syrian forces attacked the village of Deir Ashash, in Northern Lebanon, killing three priests and causing its residents to flee.

September 11, 1975: The Saaka forces and forces from the Syrian Baath Party attacked the village of Beit Mallat killing seven of its residents and kidnapping 10 others.

September 26, 1975: Egyptian newspaper El Ahram accused Syria of meddling in Lebanon and of attempting to impose the Syrian Baath Party on Lebanon by force.

October 9, 1975: Saaka forces traveling across the Syrian border attacked the village of Tal Abbas in Akkar killing 15 people and injuring many others. The local church was set on fire with the hope of igniting religious strife between the Lebanese.

November 2, 1975: A whole Syrian battalion of Syrian Special Forces entered Lebanon through the Bekaa Valley.

January 7, 1976: In a statement published by a Kuwaiti newspaper Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam announced that Lebanon is part of Syria and that it will be returned to it adding that this concept should be very clear to everyone.

January 15, 1976: A battalion from the Palestine Liberation Army, the Yarmouck division, which is under Syrian command, entered the Bekaa and had confrontations with Lebanese Army in the area.

January 19, 1976: More forces from the Yarmouck division along with some other forces from the Saaka entered Northern Lebanon and proceeded to attack Lebanese police and internal security forces positions; they were helped by local armed Palestinian militias.

January 21, 1976: The Yarmouck and the Saaka forces, under the command of Syria, attacked the Christian town of Damour in the Shouf uprooting its residents, killing a large number of people and reducing the town to rubbles. Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt tried in vain to stop the attack and prevent the massacres but all his efforts were useless in the face of the Syrian plan to ignite religious strife among the Lebanese.

March 5, 1976: Saaka forces encircled the towns of Kobeyat and Anduct in Akkar in Northern Lebanon and proceeded to bombard the area with heavy artillery and mortar fire. Meanwhile falsified or imaginary statements were being distributed supposedly from the residents of the two towns asking for the Syrian forces to intervene and help them… April 4, 1976: Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt expressed his astonishment about the fact that Syrian forces were deploying in areas of Lebanon where there was absolutely no legal justification for their presence.

April 5, 1976: Bashir Gemayel, the leader of the Lebanese Forces announced that the different parties in Lebanon were on the verge of reaching an agreement when Syria intervened and disrupted all agreements.

May 31, 1976: Syrian tanks under the command of the Syrian army entered the Akkar area in Northern Lebanon for the first time ever.

June 1, 1976: The Syrian army advanced into the Bekaa Valley and started taking over all strategic and vital positions.

July 20, 1976: Syrian president Hafez Assad gave his famous speech on the stairs of the University of Damascus in which he stated that he did not ask anyone's permission to send his forces into Lebanon.

November 11, 1976: The Syrian Saaka Forces attempted to assassinate the leader of the National Bloc Party, Mr. Raymond Edde.

December 15, 1976: Forces from the Syrian army and from the Syrian intelligence services attacked the offices of the El Moharrar, Beirut and El Doustour newspapers, kicked out their editors and took over their offices and their printing facilities.

December 17, 1976: Syrian forces attacked the offices of the El Safir newspaper and occupied the premises.

December 19, 1976: Syrian Forces occupied the offices of the El Nahar and L'Orient-Le Jour newspapers.

December 20, 1976: Syrian defense minister General Nagi Jamil justified all these attacks against the press by saying that these newspapers are being used for Zionist propaganda.

March 16, 1977: The Syrian Secret services assassinated Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt in the Shouf region a few meters away from a Syrian checkpoint, then proceeded to commit revenge killings against the Christians of the Chouf which left 250 civilians dead.

November 5, 1977: The Saaka Syrian forces attacked the village of Aishiyeh killing 41 of its residents and displacing most of the others.

February 4, 1978: The Syrian army attempted to occupy the army headquarters at Fiyadiyyeh. Resistance from the Lebanese Army left 30 Syrian soldiers dead. Officer Abdallah Hadchity was killed during this operation.

June 14, 1978: The Syrian forces bombarded the village of Deir El Ahmar in the Bekaa with heavy artillery.

June 28, 1978: Armed gunmen affiliated with the Syrian intelligence services attacked the villages of Ka'a, Ras Baalbeck and Jdeidet El Fakaha, kidnapping a large number of people. Many of them were found dead while a good number of them remain missing.

June 30, 1978: The Syrian army, using ground and air forces, attacked regions of Northern Lebanon, and invaded Bcharre and the heights of Batroun after fierce battles with the residents and the Lebanese Forces.

September 30, 1978: Fierce battles took place between the Syrian army and the residents of East Beirut when the Syrian forces tried to advance into the area. The Syrian forces retaliated with heavy artillery, which left hundreds of innocent civilians dead and many more injured.

February 2, 1980: The Syrian special forces attacked the village of Kanat. The villagers resisted for six days but, after heavy bombardment, with tanks and canons, the Syrian forces were able to take over the village.

February 23, 1980: Syrian agents killed Maya Gemayel, the little daughter of Bashir Gemayel.

February 24, 1980: Lebanese journalist Selim Lowzi was found dead in the forests of Aramoun, near a checkpoint for the Syrian Special Forces. He has been missing for nine days, having been kidnapped on his way to the International airport of Beirut. Lowzi was known for his articles opposing the Syrian regime.

March 13, 1980: Syrian agent Hussein Mostapha Tliss tries to assassinate previous president of the republic Kamil Chamoun.

July 22, 1980: The Syrian intelligence services killed Riad Taha, the head of the union of editors.

August 27, 1980: Syrian agents attempt to assassinate John Gunther Dean, the American Ambassador to Lebanon.

November 10, 1980: Syrian agents detonated two car bombs in Achrafieh in east Beirut killing tens of people and injuring many.

December 23, 1980: Syrian artillery bombarded the town of Zahle in the Bekaa on Christmas Eve, killing and injuring many.

February 20, 1981: In an attempt to reignite religious strife in the country, the Syrians attempt to assassinate the Greek Catholic Patriarch, Maximos the fifth Hakim in the town of Bhamdoun a few meters away from a Syrian checkpoint.

April 2, 1981: Syrian artillery stationed in Aramoun suddenly and furiously bombarded East Beirut at a time when students were leaving schools to head home. Casualties and injuries were in the Hundreds.

April 3, 1981: The Syrian army and its agents mounted a full-scale attack against the town of Zahle in the Bekaa in an attempt to control it. It was reported that thousands of Syrian soldiers participated in the attack and that they were met with resistance from the residents, which lasted about four months.

September 3, 1981: Syrian agents assassinated French Ambassador Louis DeLamare. December 15, 1981: Iraq accused the Syrian intelligence services of blowing up the Iraqi embassy building in Beirut, a crime which left 30 people dead and 120 injured.

April 27, 1982: Syrian agents killed Sheikh Ahmad Assaf for his patriotic stands.

May 1, 1982: Syrian agents, to create religious strife between the various factions in Lebanon, killed Father Phillipe Abou Sleiman, a priest in Aley.

May 24, 1982: An explosion in front of the French embassy in Beirut lead to 9 deaths and 26 injuries. The operation was the work of Syrian agent Hussein Tliss.

May 25, 1982: French newspaper "Le Matin" accused the Syrians of blowing up the French embassy and presented a report complete with names and motives.

July 11, 1982: Heavy Syrian artillery shelled the Eastern sections of Beirut leaving dozens of people dead and many more injured.

September 14, 1982: Syrian agents assassinated President-elect Bashir Gemayel. April 19, 1983: Syrian agents blew up the American embassy in Beirut killing and injuring many.

April 20, 1983: The media in Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the United States revealed that the Islamic Jihad organization, that claimed responsibility for the bombing of the American Embassy in Beirut, is nothing but a front for the Syrian intelligence services.

September 2, 1983: Various Palestinian organizations controlled by Syria attacked many positions of the Lebanese Army in Souk El Gharb with the intent of occupying the area and reaching the presidential palace in Baabda.

September 9, 1983: The Lebanese government, then headed by Chafic Wazzan, notified the United States and the governments of Europe that Syrian and Palestinian forces were the major forces participating in the onslaught on the Lebanese mountain with the intent of bringing down the legal government of Lebanon.

September 8, 1983: A spokesman for the Syrian regime stated that Syria is ready to enter the war in the mountains of Lebanon if its "allies" asked her to.

September 8, 1983: Alan Romberg, a spokesman for the US State department, announced that Syria bears the bulk of the responsibility for what is going on in Lebanon and that it is the main source of weapons used by the various militias that it controls, in addition to the role of its 40 thousand soldiers who are in Lebanon.

September 9, 1983: A French source noted that Damascus is working hard to take advantage of the talks between the various Lebanese factions, confirming that the French embassy in Beirut was bombarded from positions under Syrian control.

December 27, 1985: Syria tried to impose what was called the tripartite agreement on the Lebanese but was met with an armed rebellion in the Eastern section of Beirut which brought down the agreement-conspiracy which aimed to make the Syrian hegemony over Lebanon constitutional. This was later achieved with the Taief Accords.

September 18, 1986: French military Attaché Christian Gauthier was shot in front of the French embassy with a revolver equipped with a silencer by Hussein Mostapha Tliss who now resides in Syria.

October 7, 1986: Syrian agents murdered the head of the Islamic Shiite Higher Council, Sheikh Soubhi Saleh, who was shot in broad daylight.

November 22, 1986: The Syrian army kidnapped hundreds of civilians from the town of Tripoli in Northern Lebanon in retaliation for attacks against Syrian military and intelligence positions. The bodies of many who were kidnapped were found in the streets of Tripoli and its suburbs.

November 30, 1986: The Syrian Special forces liquidated 34 residents of Tripoli on charges of "opposition to the Syrians."

August 2, 1987: Syrian agents assassinated Dr. Mohammad Choucair, an advisor to President Amine Gemayel. He was killed inside his home in West Beirut.

March 14, 1989: Heavy Syrian artillery, specifically the 52nd brigade controlled by the Syrian special Forces, equipped with 240 and 160 millimeters canons, positioned in the hills of Aramoun, pounded both the East and the West side of Beirut, especially targeting the Unesco area. Tens of Lebanese were killed in the onslaught. Following these attacks, and in complete coordination with Israel, the Syrian forces using various heavy weapons surrounded the areas controlled by the constitutional regime.

May 9, 1989: The Syrian Intelligence Services assassinated the Sunni Mufti of the republic, Sheikh Hassan Khaled after he notified the Kuwaiti ambassador that the Syrian artillery is the one responsible for shelling both the Christian and the Moslem sides of the city, and that the Syrians, from their positions in Aramoun, are responsible for the massacres at Unesco.

November 22, 1989: The Syrians assassinated president-elect Rene Moawad due to disputes he had with the Syrian leaders and his refusal to obey their orders.

August 1, 1990: The Syrian forces surrounded the area controlled by the legitimate Lebanese government to bring down the transitional government.

November 12, 1990: Syrian agent Francois Halal makes an attempt to assassinate Prime Minister General Michel Aoun at the presidential palace. The head of the Syrian Baath party proclaimed that he was responsible for the failed attempt.

October 13, 1990: The Syrian Forces invaded the Eastern areas which support the Lebanese Army under heavy air strikes (the only instance where Syria was able to fly its airforce over Lebanese space without drawing the Israelis), artillery shelling and rocket launching. Both the people and the army attempted to resist this onslaught but the Syrians were able to take over the area committing massacres in Dahr El Wahsh, Souk El Gharb, Bsous, Hadeth and Beit Mery, massacres that left hundreds of people dead and many more injured. Large numbers of soldiers and officers from the Lebanese Army were executed with a shot in the back of the head, or were captured and taken to Syrian jails where they are still being held to this day. An estimated 700 people were killed by the Syrian invaders that day. For three days the Syrians proceeded to steal what they could find inside the defense ministry, such as archives, equipment, computers, maps, and strategic historic information, which they transported to Syria. The Syrian invasion was "legitimized" by the collaboration of one Emile Lahoud, a privileged and largely ineffectual Navy officer serving as the "legitimate" front for the Syrians. In his bid as a traitor and collaborator, General Lahoud became the Général Pétain of Lebanon who was rewarded by the Syrians with the "Presidency" of Lebanon. As the ultimate puppet, Lahoud will never challenge his puppeteers in Damascus, lest he loses his career if not his life.