Lebanese Forces

This article is about the political party and former militia. For the military of Lebanon, see Lebanese Armed Forces.

The Lebanese Forces (LF) (Arabic: القوات اللبنانية al-quwat al-lubnāniyya) is a Lebanese right wing political party and a former militia, which fought on the Christian side during the civil war that ravaged Lebanon from 1975 to 1990. After the civil war ended, the movement reinvented itself as a political party. In 1994, while Lebanon was under Syrian occupation the party was banned, and the activities of its militants repressed by the Lebanese services in Lebanon. The LF returned as legal party after the Cedar Revolution in early 2005 resulted in a withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Its leader since 1986 is Samir Geagea.

Early history (1976–1982)

Formation

The Lebanese Forces "LF" were informally organized in 1976 under the leadership of Camille Chamoun and Pierre Gemayel, during the Tell el Zaatar battle. It began as a simple coordination between the Kataeb, Ahrar, Al-Tanzim and Guardians of the Cedars militias mainly Christians and part of the Lebanese Front. The main reason behind the formation of the LF was to strengthen the Christian side against the alliance of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), including the Palestinian factions of the Rejectionist Front, Muslim militias, and the Lebanese National Movement, an umbrella of leftist Militias. From the start, the LF included the Lebanese Phalangists (or Kataeb), the National Liberal Party (or Ahrar, whose militia were known as " The Tigers"), the Al-Tanzim, the "Christian Connections" ("al Rawabit al masihiya") and the Guardians of the Cedars led by Etienne Saqr.

The LF was led by Commanding Counsel constituted of two representatives from each group (Kataeb, Ahrar, Al-Tanzim and Guardians of the Cedars) with an agreement that the direct military commander would be a Kataeb and the vice-commander an Ahrar.

Clashes with Chamoun

In July 1980, following months of intra-Christian clashes between the Tigers and the Phalangists, who by now were under the leadership of Bachir Gemayel, Pierre Gemayel's younger son, the Phalangists launched an operation dubbed «Unification of the Rifle», in an attempt to unite all the Christian militias under Gemayel's command. This operation resulted in a massacre of tens of Tigers' members and their families at the Marine beach resort in Safra, 25 km north of Beirut. Camille Chamoun's silence was interpreted as acceptance because the Tigers led by his son Dany were getting out of his control.

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Lebanese Forces successfully repelled the Syrians in Zahle

Siege of Zahle

On April 2, 1981, the Syrian army heavily bombarded the city of Zahle, the largest Catholic city in the Middle East. There were less than a hundred LF fighters in the city at the beginning of the battle. Zahle was sieged for three months during which it was violently shelled, but the population refused to surrender with the support of LF fighters. Meanwhile, protests were held in East Beirut urging the end of the siege. It finally ended with the withdrawal of the Syrian troops (and snipers) from around the city, and the evacuation of LF fighters to Beirut. The LF combatants were honored at their arrival to the LF headquarters in Karantina.

Israeli invasion

In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon, arguing that a military intervention was necessary to root out PLO guerrillas from the southern part of the country. Israeli forces eventually moved towards Beirut and laid siege to the city, aiming to reshape the Lebanese political landscape.

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Israel supplied the Lebanese Forces with warships and other valuable military equipment

After the PLO had been expelled from the country to Tunisia, in a negotiated agreement, LF leader Bachir Gemayel was elected as president of Lebanon and the youngest ever to take office. He was elected by the parliament in September; most Muslim members of parliament boycotted the vote. Nine days before he was to take office, on September 14, 1982, he was killed along with 25 others in a bomb explosion in the Kataeb headquarters in Achrafieh. The attack was carried out by a member of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP), believed by many to have acted on instructions of the Syrian government of President Hafez al-Assad. Israel then moved to occupy the city, allowing Phalanges and LF members to enter the centrally located Palestinian refugee camps of Sabra and Shatila; a massacre followed, in which the Phalanges supposedly killed between 700 and 3,500 Palestinian refugees,(the Red Cross has counted 350 killed) causing great international uproar. Many cite the massacre as revenge for the killing of Bashir Gemayel and the Damour Massacre.

The Amine Gemayel years (1982–1988)

Battles

Mountain War

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Nizamiyyeh, an elite LF female unit fire behind sandbags

.

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A Virgin Mary symbol on a Lebanese Forces fighters rifle.

After the Israeli invasion, the IDF troops settled in the Chouf and Aley districts in Mount Lebanon. This, along with the election of Bachir Gemayel as president of the republic led to the return of the Christian refugees that fled their homes at the beginning of war. The LF returned back to the positions in the villages they were in seven years ago. Some individual vengeance acts committed against the Druze population caused anger and resentment among them. This will be one of the reasons behind the atrocities perpetrated during the Mountain War. The LF participated in the "Mountain War," but could not prevent the evacuation of the majority of the Christian population and the destruction of many Christian villages by the Druze Progressive Socialist Party "PSP" and allied Palestinian militias.

The LF also fought battles against the Palestinians, Druze PSP and Syrians east of the southern city of Sidon. The outcome was a PSP militia victory and a contigous Druze Chouf district with access to the sea.

Internal power struggles

After the death of Bachir, his brother Amine Gemayel had replaced him as President, and his cousin, Fadi Frem, as commander of the LF. The two had a frosty relationship, and in 1984, pressure from Amine led to Frem's replacement by Fouad Abou Nader.

On March 12, 1985, Samir Geagea, Elie Hobeika and Karim Pakradouni rebelled against Abou Nader's command, ostensibly to take the LF back to its original path. The relationship between Geagea and Hobeika soon broke down, however, and Hobeika began secret negotiations with the Syrians. On December 28, 1985, he signed the Tripartite Accord, against the wishes of Geagea and most of the other leading Christian figures. Claiming that the Tripartite Accord gave Syria unlimited power in Lebanon, Geagea mobilized factions inside the LF and on January 15, 1986, attacked Hobeika's headquarters in Karantina. Hobeika surrendered and fled, first to Paris and subsequently to Damascus. He then moved to Zahle with tens of his fighters where he prepared for an attack against East Beirut. On September 27, 1986, Hobeika's forces tried to take over the city of Achrafieh but the LF held them back.

This failed attempt by Hobeika was the last episode of internal struggles in East Beirut during Amine Gemayel's mandate. As a result, the LF led by Geagea were the only major force on the ground. During two years of frail peace, Geagea launched a drive to re-equip and reorganize the Lebanese Forces. He also instituted a social welfare program in areas controlled by the LF. The LF also cut its relations with Israel and emphasized relations with the Arab states, mainly Saudi Arabia, Irak, Jordan, Egypt and the PLO.

On August 18, 1988,the LF detained several members of the Lebanese Parliament, thereby preventing the return to the Presidency of Suleiman Franjieh who was pro-Syrian.

The Aoun years (1988–1990)

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Street signs that read, "No Aoun! & Aoun Out!" in Lebanon during the civil war

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Captain Salim Meayki was killed during attempted peace negotiations with Aoun's men

Two rival governments contended for recognition following Amine Gemayel's departure from the Presidency in September 1988. The LF initially supported the military government led by Gen. Michel Aoun, the commander of the Lebanese Army. However, clashes erupted between the LF and the Lebanese Army under the control of Michel Aoun on February 14, 1989, since the LF controlled many ports illegally and since Aoun wanted the official Lebanese authorities to prevail in East Beirut. These clashes were stopped, and after a meeting in Bkerké, the LF handed the national ports which it controlled to Aoun's government under pressure from the Lebanese National army.

Geagea initially supported Aoun's "Liberation War" against the Syrian army, but then agreed to the Taif Agreement "Taif," which was signed by the Lebanese deputies on 24 October 1989, which demanded an immediate ceasefire. Aoun's main objection to "Taif" was its vagueness as to Syrian withdrawal from the country. He rejected it vowing that he "would not sign over the country." Syrian occupation would last another 15 years. Fierce fighting in East Beirut broke out between the army and the LF, called the "Elimination War" by on January 31, 1990.

The Second Republic (1990–2005)

After Aoun surrendered on 13 October, 1990 to the rival Syrian-backed President, Elias Hrawi, Geagea was offered ministerial posts in the new government. He refused several times, saying that he was opposed to Syrian interference in Lebanese affairs, and his relationship with the new government deteriorated. On March 23, 1994, the Lebanese government ordered the dissolution of the LF. On April 21, 1994, Geagea was arrested on charges of setting a bomb in the church in Zouk, of instigating acts of violence, and of committing assassinations during the Lebanese Civil War. Although he was acquitted of the first charge, Geagea was subsequently arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment on several different counts, including the assassination of former Prime Minister Rashid Karami in 1987. He was incarcerated in solitary confinement, with his access to the outside world severely restricted. Amnesty International criticized the conduct of the trials and demanded Geagea's release, and Geagea's supporters argued that the Syrian-controlled Lebanese government had used the alleged crimes as a pretext for jailing Geagea and banning an anti-Syrian party. Many members of the LF were arrested and brutally tortured in the period of 1993-1994. At least one has died in custody and many others were severely injured.

==After the Cedar Revolution==

The LF was an active participant in the Cedar Revolution of 2005, when popular protests and international pressure following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafiq al-Hariri combined to force Syria out of Lebanon. In the subsequent parliamentary election held in May and June, the LF formed part of the Rafik Hariri Martyr List (LF, Future Movement, Popular Socialist Party, the reformed Phalanges, and other political parties), tactically allied with the powerful (Hizbollah and Amal) against General Aoun's Free Patriotic Movement and his allies and subsequently gained a majority in the Lebanese Parliament based on a controversial election law which was written by the Syrians to control Lebanon. The tactical alliance with Hizbollah and Amal would soon end and these majority parties and movements would later form the March 14 Alliance, opposed to the oppositional March 8 Coalition backed by Hizbullah and Amal and the Free Patriotic Movement lead by General Aoun. The party was able to win 6 out of the 8 MPs that were nominated throughout the various regions of the country. Nevertheless, the elections proved to be very significant because for the first time, many LF followers were able to participate in the election process freely, without any Syrian interference.

Following the party's new political gains, Samir Geagea was freed on 18 July, 2005 after parliament decided to amend all charges he formerly faced. Since Geagea's release from prison, the LF has been rebuilding much of its former image, by reorganizing its members and their families, reopening political facilities, and by reestablishing their main presence among the Christians of Lebanon. In addition to rebuilding their former image, the LF has also been attempting to reclaim their former privately funded facilities, which were seized by the Syrian backed government once Geagea was imprisoned. Currently, the LF has been striving to reclaim its rights to the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation, which was initiated by the party in the mid 1980s, in the Lebanese courts.

Since the emancipation of the party's main leader, Samir Geagea, the party has gained some new popularity among the Christian population throughout all of Lebanon. In addition, the Lebanese Forces have been able to attain a great deal of popularity amongst the younger generations. As seen in the various student elections in some Lebanese colleges, the LF was able to make a great deal of gains amongst the elected student bodies. The LF, along with their other March 14 allies also made additional gains in the elections for engineers, doctors, lawyers, and even teachers. Consequently, the LF has been able to revitalize itself as the largest Christian political party.

Present political representation

The LF currently holds 5 out of the 127 seats (4%) of the Lebanese Parliament, and are represented in the Siniora government, formed in July 2005, by the minister of Tourism Joseph Sarkis, and then in the second Siniora government, formed in July 2008, by the minister of Justice Ibrahim Najjar and the minister of Environment Antoine Karam.

Today, the LF and its main political representatives strive to re-establish the many Christian rights, which were forcibly taken away by the Syrian regime and its main Lebanese allies during Syria's occupation of Lebanon, specifically from 1990-2005. Some of the LF's other main objectives include formulating a just electoral law, which would enable the Christian population to be represented fairly, giving the large Lebanese diaspora voting rights, and reaffirming the powers formerly endowed to the Lebanese president before being lessened in the Taef Agreement.

Leaders of the LF

• Bachir Gemayel (1980-1982)
• Fadi Frem (1982-1984)
• Fouad Abou Nader (1984-1985)
• Elie Hobeika (1985-1986)
• Samir Geagea (1986-present)

See also

• Bachir Gemayel
• Samir Geagea
• Lebanese Civil War
• Lebanese Forces - Executive Command
• Cedar Revolution
• List of Lebanese Forces Deputies in the Lebanese Parliament
• Political parties in Lebanon

External links

• Lebanese Forces Party Official Website
• Lebanese Forces Party Official Forum
• Lebanese Forces Official Blog