Word: druzes
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...week following the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Beirut area and the Chouf to new positions along the Awali River, some 17 miles south of the capital, two more U.S. Marines and two more French soldiers were killed by artillery fire, presumably from Druze positions in the hills above Beirut. That brought the death toll among the multinational force to five Americans and 16 Frenchmen...
Soon after the U.S. and France had issued their warnings to the fighters in the mountains, Druze Leader Walid Jumblatt's political group, the Progressive Socialist Party, declared that its forces had decided not to shell military positions in which the Lebanese Army and the multinational force had a joint presence. That seemed to be good news, since it applied to a large number of military locations throughout the capital and could have freed Beirut from the constant threat of shelling from the mountains. That night, in fact, the city was peaceful for the first time in almost...
There was never much doubt that the Chouf, heartland of Lebanon's 250,000 Druze, who are members of a breakaway Islamic sect, would fall under control of the Druze militia, although the mountains are specked with Christian as well as Druze villages (see following story). The Druze militia has 30,000 fighters and, if pressed, could field thousands of irregulars. The Lebanese Forces, a Christian militia dominated by the Phalangists, have an estimated 5,000 to 8,000 fighters in the Chouf. This number could also be considerably increased, though at the moment many Christian families are sending...
When TIME Correspondent Barry Hillenbrand visited the area a day later, he found Bhamdun a shambles and deserted, except for Druze soldiers. Roofs had collapsed, window frames were stained black by fires, and smoke curled from several stone villas. Near by, in the Druze town of Sofar, militiamen carried rocket launchers and ammunition to a white Toyota pickup truck from a small stone church that was serving as a supply depot...
...headquarters in Hammana, Druze Leader Jumblatt told Hillenbrand that the multinational force was "no longer keeping the peace" and should "go away." Jumblatt acknowledged that the Syrians were providing support to his militia. He vowed that there would be no cease-fire until all Lebanese Army troops and Christian militiamen had been withdrawn from the Chouf...