Word: muslims
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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Even as the armaments were being offloaded, thousands of Lebanese were fleeing the beleaguered capital, where Christian and Muslim sections were once again separated by an impassable no man's land. All plane seats out of the city were booked for the rest of the month. Other refugees fled up the mountain roads to small villages. "The mountains are the last safe place," said a carpenter as he filled his pickup truck with relatives and children. "It will not be possible to build a new life there, but we can stay alive. All we can do is hope...
Syrian military forces, which had moved into Lebanon in 1976 to control Palestinian and Muslim leftists then threatening Christian political elements in the country and had stayed on as part of an Arab peace-keeping force, were now waging war against the Christians they had once rescued from defeat. After six days of heavy fighting around Beirut that left more than 200 dead and 500 wounded, a shaky cease-fire went into effect. But not before the conflict had nearly triggered the resignation of President Elias Sarkis and threatened to engulf the region in a deadly confrontation between Israel...
While the Syrians have been maintaining the peace in areas controlled by the Palestinians and Muslim left, Gemayel and Chamoun have seized the opportunity to build up their own military forces. During the past three months, Gemayel's 15,000-man army, which is led by Israeli-trained officers, has tried to extend its influence over areas loyal to the other Christian chieftains. In several incidents, the Phalangists fired on Syrian soldiers, who initially retreated rather than get involved in pitched battles. Boasting about their "victories over the Syrian occupation," the Phalangists last month attacked the resort village...
...Rish last week, left sections of Beirut looking like devastated outposts of World War II, "with flames on all sides, the clamor of sirens and the convulsions of shells exploding. Nobody can remember it being this bad even during the worst days of the civil war when [predominantly Muslim] West Beirut was under fire. Watching the destruction of East Beirut now is like watching in horror as a neighbor and his house are blown to bits. I managed to telephone one friend who had spent the night in a cellar under intense bombardment. The line was scratchy and the voice...
With events rapidly careening out of control, President Sarkis, a Christian, announced that he could no longer exert the authority bestowed on him by the constitution and would resign. The announcement shocked Lebanon; the squabbling Christian leaders, as well as many Muslim spokesmen, urged Sarkis to reconsider...