October 13 massacre
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| October 13 massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of Lebanese Civil War | |
| Location | Beirut, Lebanon |
| Date | October 13, 1990 |
| Target | Maronite Christian elements of East Beirut |
| Attack type | Military operations and Execution |
| Deaths | 500-700 killed during the fighting Additionally at least 240 unarmed prisoners executed, including civilians[1] |
| Perpetrator(s) | Syrian Army, Hafez al-Assad |
The October 13 Massacre took place on October 13, 1990, during the final moments of the Lebanese Civil War, when hundreds of Lebanese soldiers were executed after they surrendered to Syrian forces.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Background
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After months of skirmishes, the Syrian Army and Lebanese militias then aligned with Damascus (mainly the Progressive Socialist Party, the Lebanese Forces, and the Amal movement) stormed the holdout of the military government of East Beirut, led by Gen. Michel Aoun, who had declared a "War of Liberation" against Syria earlier during the year, and had just escaped a mysterious assassination attempt the previous day. Aoun's forces were headquartered around the Presidential Palace in Ba'bda, Beirut. The Aounist areas were quickly overrun.
While the main confrontation was clearly a military one, the attackers afterwards in many instances turned to plundering, and tens of Aounist army soldiers and civilians were summarily executed by Syrian forces or the militias, as they cemented their hold on the capital.
The attack on the Aoun government marks the end of the Lebanese Civil War. Syria would dominate the political life of the country for the following 15 years, under the auspices of the Taif Agreement.
[edit] Death count
- Lebanese Civil war October 13, 1990 at 7:00 a.m The Syrian Forces invaded the Eastern areas which support the Lebanese Army. An estimated 700 people were killed by the Syrian invaders that day and 2000 had been injured. Estimates of the Lebanese Army losses during the battle, of whom a proportion were executed by the Syrians and including Prisoners of War as between 400 to 500 soldiers. It was also reported[citation needed] that at least 200 supporters of General Aoun, most of them military personnel, were arrested by the Syrian forces in east Beirut and its suburbs, these men simply disappeared. The Syrians Army liquidated the Sayah family in the village of Bsous. At least 15 civilians were executed by Syrian soldiers in Bsous after having been rounded up from their homes.
One hospital "received 73 bodies of Lebanese army soldiers, each executed at close range with a bullet in the lower right side of the skull" and that 15 civilians were killed by the Syrians in the Bsus. He also connects the killing of National Liberal Party (NLP) leader Danny Chamoun to Syria.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Pictures from the Lebanese Civil War October 13 More than 300 tanks attacked the Christian region in Mount Lebanon and Beirut.
[edit] Literature
- William Harris, Faces of Lebanon. Sects, Wars, and Global Extensions (Markus Wiener Publishers, Princeton, USA 1996)
