The Independent Nasserite Movement – INM ( ar-at, حركة الناصريين المستقلين-المرابطون, translit=Harakat al-Nasiriyin al-Mustaqillin) or simply Al-Murabitoun ( lit. ''The Steadfast''), also termed variously Mouvement des Nasséristes Indépendants (MNI) in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, Independent Nasserite Organization (INO), or Movement of Independent Nasserists (MIN), is a
Nasserist
Nasserism ( ) is an Arab nationalist and Arab socialist political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and Egypt's second President. Spanning the domestic a ...
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
in
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
.
Name
Initially, the Movement of Independent Nasserists was the name of the political organization, whilst "al-Murabitoun" designated their militia forces. However, this distinction between political and military wings became blurred over time (and the militia has been subsequently abolished), "the Sentinels", but also meaning "Guardians" or "Saviours" – carries historical Islamic connotations (see
Almoravids
The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that ...
).
Origins
Founded in 1957 at Beirut by a group of Lebanese Nasserite activists led by
Ibrahim Kulaylat
Ibrahim Kulaylat (born 1940) is a Lebanese politician and head of the Independent Nasserist Movement (known as Al-Mourabitoun), established in 1957-58. He organized a multi-confessional militia, consisted specially of Sunni, Shia Muslims and lef ...
who opposed the pro-Western policies of President
Camille Chamoun
Camille Nimr Chamoun OM, ONC ( ar, كميل نمر شمعون, ''Kamīl Sham'ūn''; 3 April 1900 – 7 August 1987) was a Lebanese politician who served as President of Lebanon from 1952 to 1958. He was one of the country's main Christi ...
, the INM came to prominence at the height of the
1958 Civil War
The 1958 Lebanon crisis (also known as the Lebanese Civil War of 1958) was a political crisis in Lebanon caused by political and religious tensions in the country that included a United States military intervention. The intervention lasted for aro ...
. The Movement’s own 2,000-strong militia, ‘The Sentinels’ (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: ''Al-Murabitun'', ''al-murabitûn'' or ''al-Mourabitoun'') or ‘Les Sentinels’ in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, clashed with the
Lebanese Army
)
, founded = 1 August 1945
, current_form = 1991
, disbanded =
, branches = Lebanese Ground ForcesLebanese Air Force Lebanese Navy
, headquarters = Yarze, Lebanon
, flying_hours =
, websit ...
and pro-government Christian militias in northern Lebanon and Beirut.
Despite experiencing a temporary decline in the years immediately after the 1958 crisis, the INM remained an active force in Lebanese politics throughout the 1960s and 1970s. At the beginning of the 1970s, the Movement re-emerged as a major political faction within the
Sunni Muslim
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagree ...
community, forging alliances with other anti-establishment leftist parties such as the
Progressive Socialist Party
The Progressive Socialist Party ( ar, الحزب التقدمي الاشتراكي, translit=al-Hizb al-Taqadummi al-Ishtiraki) is a Lebanese political party. Its confessional base is in the Druze sect and its regional base is in Mount Lebanon ...
(PSP) led by
Kamal Jumblatt
Kamal Fouad Jumblatt ( ar, كمال فؤاد جنبلاط; 6 December 1917 – 16 March 1977) was a Lebanese politician who founded the Progressive Socialist Party. He led the National Movement during the civil war against the Lebanese Front. H ...
and the
Lebanese Communist Party
The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP), abbr. PCL is a communist party in Lebanon. It was founded in 1924 by the Lebanese intellectual, writer and reporter Yusuf Yazbek and Fu'ad al-Shamali, a tobacco worker from Bikfaya.
History
Creation
The Syr ...
(LCP). In 1969 the INM became a member of the "Front for Progressive Parties and National Forces" (FPPNF), later reorganized in 1972 as the
Lebanese National Movement
The Lebanese National Movement (LNM) ( ar, الحركة الوطنية اللبنانية, ''Al-Harakat al-Wataniyya al-Lubnaniyya'') or Mouvement National Libanais (MNL) in French, was a front of leftist, pan-Arabist and Syrian nationalist par ...
(LNM). Consistent with its Pan-Arab ideals, the radical INM was a staunch advocate of the Palestinian cause in Lebanon since the late 1960s, cultivating close political and military ties with the
Palestine Liberation Organization
The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO; ar, منظمة التحرير الفلسطينية, ') is a Palestinian nationalism, Palestinian nationalist political and militant organization founded in 1964 with the initial purpose of establ ...
(PLO) in the immediate pre-war years.
Political beliefs
As its name implies, the INM espoused the ideals of the late Egyptian President,
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
, a blend of
Socialism
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
and secular
pan-Arab nationalism
Pan-Arabism ( ar, الوحدة العربية or ) is an ideology that espouses the unification of the countries of North Africa and Western Asia from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Sea, which is referred to as the Arab world. It is closely c ...
, expressed on his party slogan 'Freedom – Unity – Socialism' (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: الحرية - الوحدة - الاشتراكية , ''al-Hurriyat – al-Wahdat – al-Aishtirakia'').
Being radically opposed to the
Christian Maronite
The Maronite Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic ''sui iuris'' particular church in full communion with the pope and the worldwide Catholic Church, with self-governance under the Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches. Th ...
-dominated political order in Lebanon, the political goals of al-Murabitoun were to preserve the
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and secular character of Lebanon and, in the long-term, establish a
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
political and economic system.
[Mroueh Kerim; Sabbagh Samir. ]
"Lebanon is Where the US and Israel will Settle Accounts with the Palestinians"
'' in MERIP Reports, No. 77. (May 1979), pp. 12-15+26.
The INM presented itself as being pragmatic in ideological terms however, and that its doctrine was based upon a fusion between materialist
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
and liberal
idealist
In philosophy, the term idealism identifies and describes metaphysical perspectives which assert that reality is indistinguishable and inseparable from perception and understanding; that reality is a mental construct closely connected to ide ...
theories.
[Hafez, Ziad.]
Independent Nasserite Movement: Interview with Ziad Hafez
" in ''MERIP Reports'', No. 61. (October, 1977), pp. 9–14. In 1979, leading party cadre Samir Sabbagh described the INM as particularly close to the
Lebanese Communist Party
The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP), abbr. PCL is a communist party in Lebanon. It was founded in 1924 by the Lebanese intellectual, writer and reporter Yusuf Yazbek and Fu'ad al-Shamali, a tobacco worker from Bikfaya.
History
Creation
The Syr ...
(LCP).
Following
Although the INM claimed to be a secular, non-sectarian movement, its membership has always been overwhelmingly Muslim, being perceived within Lebanon as a predominantly
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
organization. During the Movement's resurgence in the early 1970s, it drew its support largely from
working class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
’ and impoverished
petty bourgeoisie
''Petite bourgeoisie'' (, literally 'small bourgeoisie'; also anglicised as petty bourgeoisie) is a French term that refers to a social class composed of semi-autonomous peasants and small-scale merchants whose politico-economic ideological sta ...
Sunnis
Sunni Islam () is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia ...
,
[Barbee, Lynne. ]
Interviews with the Lebanese National Movement: Introduction
'' in MERIP Reports
The ''Middle East Report'' is a magazine published by the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP). The headquarters is in Tacoma, Washington.
History and profile
MERIP began in 1971 by releasing an irregularly scheduled six-page new ...
, No. 61. (October, 1977), pp. 3-5. but this did not prevent them of attracting followers from other sects. Indeed, a 1987 report used by the U.S.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
study on
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
estimated the INM membership since the mid-1970s to be about 45%
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
, 45%
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
and 10%
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
,
although other unconfirmed sources present the remaining 40% as Christians. Geographically, the movement had its epicentre in the
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
areas of
Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
.
Military structure and organization
Quietly re-formed in early 1975, their "Sentinels" militia, now known as the Al-Mourabitoun Forces (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: قوات المرابطون , ''Quwwat al-Murabitun''), started with just 150–200 poorly armed militants, but it subsequently grew to 3,000–5,000 men and women drawn from the Muslim quarters of
West Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
placed under the command of Kulaylat himself. Headquartered at the Tarik al-Jadida quarter of the Mazraa commercial district in West Beirut, the INM/al-Murabitoun in the early 1980s numbered some 1,000 regular fighters and 2,000 reservists secretly trained by the
Palestinian factions (
Fatah
Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...
,
PFLP
The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( ar, الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين, translit=al-Jabhah al-Sha`biyyah li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn, PFLP) is a secular Palestinian Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist an ...
and ''
As-Saiqa
As-Sa'iqa ( ar, صاعقة, lit=Thunderbolt, translit=Saiqa) officially known as Vanguard for the Popular Liberation War - Lightning Forces, ( ar, طلائع حرب التحرير الشعبية - قوات الصاعقة ) is a Palestinian Ba ...
'') and later by
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
Ahmed Al-Khatib's
Lebanese Arab Army
The Lebanese Arab Army – LAA (Arabic: جيش لبنان العربي transliteration ''Jayish Lubnan al-Arabi''), also known as the Arab Army of Lebanon (AAL), Arab Lebanese Army or Armée du Liban Arabe (ALA) in French, was a predominantly ...
.
Since its foundation the militia quickly attained a 'regular' outlook, attested by the high discipline and organization of its 3,000 uniformed militiamen into conventional branches of Armor, Infantry and Artillery, backed by Medical, Signals and Military Police support units. Whilst
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
,
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
and
Shia
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that the Prophets and messengers in Islam, Islamic prophet Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali, ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his S ...
Muslims filled the rank-and-file, its officer corps was staffed mostly by Sunnis and a few
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
trained in
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
and
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
.
Units
*the "Hawks of az-Zeidaniyya" (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: صقور الزيدانية , ''Suqūr az-Zaydānīya'')
*the "Maarouf Saad Units and the Determination brigade" (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: معروف معروف وحدات ولواء تقرير , ''Merouf Maeruf Wahadat wa Liwa' Taqrir'')
List of Al-Mourabitoun Forces commanders
*
Ibrahim Kulaylat
Ibrahim Kulaylat (born 1940) is a Lebanese politician and head of the Independent Nasserist Movement (known as Al-Mourabitoun), established in 1957-58. He organized a multi-confessional militia, consisted specially of Sunni, Shia Muslims and lef ...
*
Shawqi Majed
Weapons and equipment
Most of the INM/Al-Murabitoun's own weapons and equipment were provided by the PLO, Libya, Egypt, Iraq and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
or pilfered from
Lebanese Armed Forces
)
, founded = 1 August 1945
, current_form = 1991
, disbanded =
, branches = Lebanese Ground ForcesLebanese Air Force Lebanese Navy
, headquarters = Yarze, Lebanon
, flying_hours =
, websit ...
(LAF) barracks and
Internal Security Forces
The Internal Security Forces Directorate ( ar, المديرية العامة لقوى الأمن الداخلي, al-Mudiriyya al-'aamma li-Qiwa al-Amn al-Dakhili; french: Forces de Sécurité Intérieure; abbreviated ISF) is the national police ...
(ISF) police stations. Additional weaponry, vehicles and other, non-lethal military equipments were procured in the international
black market
A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...
.
Small-arms
Al-Murabitoun militiamen were provided with a variety of small-arms, including
MAS-36,
Lee–Enfield
The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's st ...
,
Mosin–Nagant
The Mosin–Nagant is a five-shot, bolt-action, internal magazine–fed military rifle. Known officially as the 3-line rifle M1891 and informally in Russia and former Soviet Union as Mosin's rifle ( ru , винтовка Мосина, ISO 9: ) ...
and
Mauser
Mauser, originally Königlich Württembergische Gewehrfabrik ("Royal Württemberg Rifle Factory"), was a German arms manufacturer. Their line of bolt-action rifles and semi-automatic pistols has been produced since the 1870s for the German arme ...
Karabiner 98k
The Karabiner 98 kurz (; "carbine 98 short"), often abbreviated Karabiner 98k, Kar98k or K98k and also sometimes incorrectly referred to as a K98 (a K98 is a Polish carbine and copy of the Kar98a), is a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 7.92×5 ...
bolt-action rifles,
MAT-49
The MAT-49 is a submachine gun which was developed by French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) for use by the French Army and was first produced in 1949.
Development
In 1949, after evaluating several prototypes (including ...
,
Sa 25/26 and
Crvena Zastava Automat M56 submachine guns,
M2 carbines,
M1 Garand
The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World War ...
(or its Italian-produced copy, the Beretta Model 1952),
Beretta BM 59
The BM 59 is an automatic battle rifle developed in Italy in 1959. It is based on the M1 Garand rifle, chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO, modified to use a detachable magazine, and capable of selective fire. Later revisions incorporated other feature ...
and
SKS
The SKS (russian: Самозарядный карабин системы Симонова, Samozaryadny Karabin sistemy Simonova, 1945, self-loading carbine of (the) Simonov system, 1945) is a semi-automatic rifle designed by Soviet small arms ...
[El-Assad, ''Civil Wars Volume 1: The Gun Trucks'' (2008), p. 91.] semi-automatic rifle
A semi-automatic rifle is an autoloading rifle that fires a single cartridge with each pull of the trigger, and uses part of the fired cartridge's energy to eject the case and load another cartridge into the chamber. For comparison, a bolt-act ...
s,
FN FAL
The FAL (a French acronym for (English: "Light Automatic Rifle")), is a battle rifle designed in Belgium by Dieudonné Saive and manufactured by FN Herstal (simply known as FN).
During the Cold War the FAL was adopted by many countries of th ...
,
M16A1
The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...
,
Heckler & Koch G3
The Heckler & Koch G3 (''Gewehr'' 3) is a 7.62×51mm NATO, select-fire battle rifle developed in the 1950s by the German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch (H&K) in collaboration with the Spanish state-owned design and development agency CET ...
,
[Katz, Russel, and Volstad, ''Armies in Lebanon'' (1985), p. 44, Plate G2.] Vz. 58
The vz. 58 (or Sa vz. 58) is a 7.62×39mm assault rifle designed and manufactured in Czechoslovakia and accepted into service in the late 1950s as the 7,62 mm samopal vzor 58 ("7.62mm submachine gun model 58"), replacing the vz. 52 self-l ...
,
AK-47
The AK-47, officially known as the ''Avtomat Kalashnikova'' (; also known as the Kalashnikov or just AK), is a gas operated, gas-operated assault rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×39mm cartridge. Developed in the Soviet Union by Russian s ...
and
AKM
The AKM () is an assault rifle designed by Soviet small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1959. It is the most ubiquitous rifle of the Kalashnikov rifles. It was developed as a replacement to the AK-47 introduced a decade prior.
Introduced ...
assault rifles
(other variants included the
Zastava M70
The Zastava M70 ( sr-Cyrl, Застава М70) is a 7.62x39mm assault rifle. Developed in Yugoslavia by Zastava Arms during the 1960s, the M70 was an unlicensed derivative of the Soviet AK-47 (specifically the Type 3 variant). It became the st ...
, Chinese
Type 56
The Type 56 (; literally; "Assault Rifle, Model of 1956") is a Chinese 7.62×39mm rifle. It is a variant of the Soviet-designed AK-47 (specifically Type 3) and AKM rifles.Miller, David (2001). ''The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns''. ...
, Romanian
Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965
The Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965 (abbreviated PM md. 63 or simply md. 63) is a Romanian 7.62x39mm assault rifle. Developed in the late 1950s, the PM md. 63 was a derivative of the Soviet AKM produced under license. It was the standard iss ...
, Bulgarian AKK/AKKS and former East German MPi-KMS-72 assault rifles).
Several models of handguns were also used, including
Colt Single Action Army second generation revolvers,
Tokarev TT-33
The TT-30,, "7.62 mm Tokarev self-loading pistol model 1930", TT stands for Tula-Tokarev) commonly known simply as the Tokarev, is an out-of-production Soviet semi-automatic pistol. It was developed in 1930 by Fedor Tokarev as a service pisto ...
,
CZ 75
The CZ 75 is a semi-automatic pistol made by Czech firearm manufacturer ČZUB. First introduced in 1975, it is one of the original " wonder nines" and features a staggered-column magazine, all-steel construction, and a hammer forged barrel. It ...
,
M1911A1
The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for the ...
,
FN P35 and
MAB PA-15 pistol
The MAB PA-15 (''Pistolet Automatique 15'', also known as the ''P-15'' or ''P.15 Standard'') was a French semi-automatic pistol, designed by the Manufacture d'armes de Bayonne. The model number, 15, refers to the magazine capacity. The PA-15 was ...
s. Squad weapons consisted of
DP-28
The Degtyaryov machine gun (russian: Пулемёт Дегтярёвa Пехотный, Pulemyot Degtyaryova Pekhotny literally: "Degtyaryov's infantry machine gun") or DP-27/DP-28 is a light machine gun firing the 7.62×54mmR cartridge that was ...
,
MG 34
The MG 34 (shortened from German: ''Maschinengewehr 34'', or "machine gun 34") is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It introduced an entirely ne ...
,
M1918A2 BAR,
Bren
The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used ...
,
AA-52
The ''AA-52'' (full designation in French: ''Arme Automatique Transformable Modèle 1952'', "Transformable automatic weapon model 1952") is one of the first French-produced guns of the Aftermath of World War II, post–World War II era. It was ma ...
,
RPK
The RPK (russian: Ручной пулемёт Калашникова/РПК, Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova, link=no, English: "Kalashnikov hand-held machine gun"), sometimes retroactively termed the RPK-47, is a Soviet 7.62×39mm light machine ...
,
RPD RPD may refer to:
People
* Robert Prentiss Daniel, American psychologist
* Rahul Peter Das, German professor
* Rajendra Prasad Das, Indian archaeologist
* Royal Page Davidson, American scholar
* Richard Paul Davies, English priest
* Richard Pe ...
,
[Kassis, ''Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2012), p. 47.] PK/PKM,
FN MAG
The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, inc ...
and
M60 light machine guns, with heavier
Browning M1919A4 .30 Cal,
Browning M2HB .50 Cal,
[Kassis, ''Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2012), p. 44.] SG-43/SGM Goryunov and
DShKM
The DShK 1938 ( Cyrillic: ДШК, for russian: Дегтярёва-Шпагина Крупнокалиберный, Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny, links=no, "Degtyaryov-Shpagin large-calibre") is a Soviet heavy machine gun with a V-shaped bu ...
[Kassis, ''Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2012), p. 45.] machine guns being employed as platoon and company weapons.
Heckler & Koch G3A3 assault rifles equipped with telescopic sights were used for sniping.
Grenade launchers and portable anti-tank weapons consisted of
M203
The M203 is a single-shot 40 mm under-barrel grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older stand-alone M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilizes the high-low propulsion system to keep recoil forces ...
,
M72 LAW
The M72 LAW (light anti-tank weapon, also referred to as the light anti-armor weapon or LAW as well as LAWS: light anti-armor weapons system) is a portable one-shot unguided anti-tank weapon. The solid rocket propulsion unit was developed in th ...
,
RPG-2
The RPG-2 (Russian: РПГ-2, Ручной противотанковый гранатомёт, ''Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot''; English: "hand-held antitank grenade launcher") is a man-portable, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that was desi ...
and
RPG-7
The RPG-7 (russian: link=no, РПГ-7, Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт, Ruchnoy Protivotankoviy Granatomyot) is a portable, reusable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank, rocket-propelled grenade launcher. ...
rocket launchers
A rocket launcher is a weapon that launches an unguided, rocket-propelled projectile.
History
The earliest rocket launchers documented in imperial China consisted of arrows modified by the attachment of a rocket motor to the shaft a few in ...
, whilst crew-served and indirect fire weapons included
M2 60mm mortars,
82-PM-41 82mm mortars and
120-PM-43 (M-1943) 120mm heavy mortars, plus
Type 36 57mm (Chinese-produced version of the shoulder-fired US M18 recoilless rifle),
Type 56 75mm (Chinese variant of the US M20 recoilless rifle),
B-10 82mm,
B-11 107mm and
M40A1 106mm recoilless rifle
A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...
s (often mounted on
technicals
Technicals may refer to:
* Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle often used in civil conflict
* TECHNICALS, a clothing brand owned by Blacks Leisure Group
See also
* Technical (disambiguation)
* Cambridge Technicals
Cambridge Techn ...
). Soviet
PTRS-41 14.5mm anti-tank rifles were used for heavy sniping.
Armoured and transport vehicles
Created in February 1976, the Al-Murabitoun's early armored corps initially fielded two obsolescent
Sherman Firefly
The Sherman Firefly was a tank used by the United Kingdom and some armoured formations of other Allies in the Second World War. It was based on the US M4 Sherman, but was fitted with the more powerful 3-inch (76.2 mm) calibre British 17- ...
medium tanks, a few
Charioteer tank
The Charioteer Tank, or FV4101 Tank, Medium Gun, Charioteer was a Aftermath of World War II, post-world-war II British armoured fighting vehicle. It was produced in the 1950s to up-gun units of the Royal Armoured Corps continuing to use the Crom ...
s,
M113 and
Panhard M3 VTT armored personnel carrier
An armoured personnel carrier (APC) is a broad type of armoured military vehicle designed to transport personnel and equipment in combat zones. Since World War I, APCs have become a very common piece of military equipment around the world.
Acc ...
s (APC),
M42 Duster
The M42 40 mm Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun, or "Duster," is an American armored light air-defense gun built for the United States Army from 1952 until December 1960, in service until 1988. Production of this vehicle was performed by the ...
SPAAG
An anti-aircraft vehicle, also known as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) or self-propelled air defense system (SPAD), is a mobile vehicle with a dedicated anti-aircraft capability.
Specific weapon systems used include machine guns, ...
s,
Cadillac Gage V-100 Commando
The Cadillac Gage Commando, frequently denoted as the M706 in U.S. military service, is an American armored car designed to be amphibious. It was engineered by Cadillac Gage specifically for the United States Military Police Corps during the ...
,
Panhard AML-90
The Panhard AML (''Auto Mitrailleuse Légère'', or "Light Machine Gun Car") is an armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed on a lightly armoured 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes, and is thus suitable for airborne depl ...
and
Staghound armoured car
The T17E1 Armoured Car was an American armored car design produced during the Second World War. It saw service with British and other Commonwealth forces during the war under the name Staghound, but was never used on the front line by US forces ...
s seized from the
Lebanese Army
)
, founded = 1 August 1945
, current_form = 1991
, disbanded =
, branches = Lebanese Ground ForcesLebanese Air Force Lebanese Navy
, headquarters = Yarze, Lebanon
, flying_hours =
, websit ...
and the
Internal Security Forces
The Internal Security Forces Directorate ( ar, المديرية العامة لقوى الأمن الداخلي, al-Mudiriyya al-'aamma li-Qiwa al-Amn al-Dakhili; french: Forces de Sécurité Intérieure; abbreviated ISF) is the national police ...
, backed by
Gun truck
A gun truck is an armored vehicle with
one or more crew-served weapons, typically based on a commercial vehicle. Gun trucks often have improvised vehicle armor, such as scrap metal, concrete, gravel, or sandbags, which is added to a heavy truc ...
s and
technicals
Technicals may refer to:
* Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle often used in civil conflict
* TECHNICALS, a clothing brand owned by Blacks Leisure Group
See also
* Technical (disambiguation)
* Cambridge Technicals
Cambridge Techn ...
. The latter consisted of commandeered
Austin Champ
The Austin Champ was a military and civilian jeep-like vehicle made by the Austin Motor Company in the 1950s. The army version was officially known as "Truck, 1/4 ton, CT, 4×4, Cargo & FFW, Austin Mk.1" however the civilian name "Champ" was un ...
, US
M151A1/A2,
Willys M38A1 MD (or its civilian version, the
Jeep CJ-5
The Jeep CJ models are a series and a range of small, open-bodied off-road vehicles and compact pickup trucks, built and sold by several successive incarnations of the Jeep automobile marque from 1945 to 1986. The 1945 Willys Jeep was the world' ...
) and
Kaiser M715 jeeps,
Land-Rover series II-III,
Toyota Land Cruiser (J40)
The Toyota Land Cruiser (J40), is a series of Land Cruisers made by Toyota from 1960 until 2001. Traditional body on frame, most 40 series Land Cruisers were built as 2-door models with slightly larger dimensions than the similar Jeep CJ.
Th ...
,
[Kassis, ''30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2003), p. 66.] Toyota Land Cruiser (J45),
GMC K25 Sierra,
Chevrolet C-10/C-15 Cheyenne light pickup trucks, and
Chevrolet C/K 3rd generation pickup trucks,
[El-Assad, ''Civil Wars Volume 1: The Gun Trucks'' (2008), p. 93.] plus
Mercedes-Benz Unimog 416 light trucks,
GMC K1500 medium-duty trucks,
GMC C4500 medium-duty trucks and
ZIL-151 General purpose trucks armed with
heavy machine guns
A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or t ...
,
recoilless rifles
A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...
and
Anti-Aircraft
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
autocannons
An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bulle ...
.
For logistical support, the INM militia relied on
Toyota Land Cruiser (J42) hardtop
A hardtop is a rigid form of automobile roof, which for modern cars is typically constructed from metal. A hardtop roof can be either fixed (i.e. not removable), Convertible#Detachable hardtop, detachable for separate storing or retractable ha ...
,
Toyota Land Cruiser (J45) and
Jeep Gladiator J20 light pickups,
Pinzgauer 712M light all-terrain vehicles,
Volkswagen Type 2 Transporter Pickups,
Chevrolet C-50 medium-duty,
Dodge F600 medium-duty and
GMC C4500 medium-duty trucks, and
GMC C7500 heavy-duty trucks. Modified
Peugeot 504 pickup trucks were used as military ambulances.
The armored corps was later expanded in October 1982 following the departure of PLO regular forces from West Beirut. INM militia forces were able to salvage a number of
BRDM-2
The BRDM-2 (''Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina'', Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "Combat Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle") is an amphibious armoured scout car used by states that we ...
amphibious
Amphibious means able to use either land or water. In particular it may refer to:
Animals
* Amphibian, a vertebrate animal of the class Amphibia (many of which live on land and breed in water)
* Amphibious caterpillar
* Amphibious fish, a fish ...
armoured scout cars, ten
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
-made
T-34/85
The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The Chr ...
medium tanks,
[Kassis, ''30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon'' (2003), p. 67.] five
BTR-152
The BTR-152 is a six-wheeled Soviet armored personnel carrier (БТР, from Бронетранспортер/'' Bronetransporter'', literally "armored transporter"), built on the chassis and drive train of a ZIS-151 utility truck. It entered servi ...
wheeled APCs,
[El-Assad, ''Civil Wars Volume 1: The Gun Trucks'' (2008), p. 95.] two or three
ZSU-23-4M1 Shilka SPAAG
An anti-aircraft vehicle, also known as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) or self-propelled air defense system (SPAD), is a mobile vehicle with a dedicated anti-aircraft capability.
Specific weapon systems used include machine guns, ...
tracked vehicles
and a few
T-34T Armoured Recovery Vehicles. It is rumoured that the INM militia forces also captured one
Magach 3 MBT from the
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
earlier in September 1982, though it remains unclear if this particular vehicle was taken into their service or was simply returned to its previous owners.
Artillery
In addition, the seizure of some ex-PLO artillery pieces, namely obsolete Soviet
ZiS-2 57mm and
ZiS-3 76.2mm anti-tank guns,
M1938 (M-30) 122mm howitzers and
Type 59-1 130mm field guns,
plus five
BM-11 122mm and
BM-21 Grad 122mm MBRLs which allowed them to strengthen their own artillery corps. British
Bofors 40mm L/60 anti-aircraft guns,
Yugoslav
Zastava M55
The Zastava M55, also designated 20/3-mm-M55, is a Yugoslavian/Serbian 20mm triple-barreled automatic anti-aircraft gun developed in 1955 and produced by Crvena Zastava (now Zastava Arms company) in Kragujevac, Serbia, for Yugoslav People's Army ...
20mm,
Soviet
ZPU (ZPU-1, ZPU-2, ZPU-4) 14.5mm and
ZU-23-2
The ZU-23-2, also known as ZU-23, is a Soviet towed 23×152mm anti-aircraft twin-barreled autocannon. ZU stands for ''Zenitnaya Ustanovka'' (Russian: Зенитная Установка) – anti-aircraft mount. The GRAU index is 2A13.
Developm ...
23mm AA
autocannon
An autocannon, automatic cannon or machine cannon is a fully automatic gun that is capable of rapid-firing large-caliber ( or more) armour-piercing, explosive or incendiary shells, as opposed to the smaller-caliber kinetic projectiles (bull ...
s (mounted on
technicals
Technicals may refer to:
* Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle often used in civil conflict
* TECHNICALS, a clothing brand owned by Blacks Leisure Group
See also
* Technical (disambiguation)
* Cambridge Technicals
Cambridge Techn ...
,
ZIL-151 trucks and
M113 and
BTR-152
The BTR-152 is a six-wheeled Soviet armored personnel carrier (БТР, from Бронетранспортер/'' Bronetransporter'', literally "armored transporter"), built on the chassis and drive train of a ZIS-151 utility truck. It entered servi ...
APCs) were employed in both
air defense
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
and direct fire supporting roles. In addition to AA guns and autocannons, the INM/Al-Murabitoun received either from Syria or the PLO a number of man-portable, shoulder-launched Soviet
SA-7 Grail
The 9K32 Strela-2 (russian: Cтрела, "arrow"; NATO reporting name SA-7 Grail) is a light-weight, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missile (or MANPADS) system. It is designed to target aircraft at low altitudes with passive infrared homing guid ...
surface-to-air (SAM) missiles, which they employed against
Israeli Air Force
The Israeli Air Force (IAF; he, זְרוֹעַ הָאֲוִיר וְהֶחָלָל, Zroa HaAvir VeHahalal, tl, "Air and Space Arm", commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial warfare branch of the Israel Defense ...
(IAF)
fighter-bomber jets during the
1982 Lebanon War
The 1982 Lebanon War, dubbed Operation Peace for Galilee ( he, מבצע שלום הגליל, or מבצע של"ג ''Mivtsa Shlom HaGalil'' or ''Mivtsa Sheleg'') by the Israeli government, later known in Israel as the Lebanon War or the First L ...
.
Activities and controversy
Stubborn and determined fighters, adept at employing guerrilla tactics in urban areas, the INM/al-Murabitoun operated mainly within West Beirut, controlling by the mid-1980s the important Mahallat Abu Shaker,
Wadi Abu Jamil
Wadi Abu Jamil is the former Jewish quarter in Beirut, Lebanon, located in the city's central district.
History
Formally known as ''Wadi al-Yahoud'' (meaning "Valley of the Jews"), the quarter was the center of the Lebanese Jewish community, wi ...
,
Hamra, Corniche El-Mazraa, Corniche El-Manara, Bashoura,
Basta El-Tahta,
Chyah
Chiyah () is situated in the west region of the Lebanese capital of Beirut and is part of Greater Beirut.
Location
Chiyah is located in the southwest suburbs of the capital Beirut, bordered by Haret Hreik, Ghobeiry, Hadath, Hazmiyeh, Furn-el- ...
and
Ras Beirut
Ras Beirut ("Tip of Beirut") is an upscale residential neighborhood of Beirut. It has a mixed population of Christians, Muslims, Druze, and secular individuals. Ras Beirut is home to some of Beirut's historically prominent families, such as th ...
districts and quarters. They also operated two clandestine ports located at
Ouza'i district and at the
Ain El-Mreisseh waterfront sector of the Lebanese capital, which were used primarily for arms-smuggling in collusion with the
Sidon
Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...
-based
Popular Nasserist Organization
The Popular Nasserist Organization – PNO ( ar, التنظيم الشعبي الناصري, translit=Al-Tanzim al-Sha'aby al-Nassery) or Organisation Populaire Nassérienne (OPN) in French, is a Sidon-based Nasserist party originally formed i ...
(PNO). A third illegal port located at the
Karantina
La Quarantaine, which is colloquially referred to as Karantina (Arabic: الكرنتينا) and sometimes spelled Quarantina, is a predominantly low-income, mixed-use residential, commercial, and semi-industrial neighborhood in northeastern Beirut ...
dock area in
East Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
was briefly held by the INM since November 1975, until being forced out by the Christian militias on January 18, 1976.
Like other Lebanese factions, the INM operated its own media services. A radio station was set up in 1975, the "Voice of Arab Lebanon" (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: ''Iza'at Sawt Lubnan al-Arabi'') or "La Voix du Liban Arabe" in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, followed in 1982 by a television station, the "Television of Arab Lebanon" (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: ''Televizyon Lubnan al-Arabi'') or "Télévision du Liban Arabe" in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, their broadcasting facilities being allocated at the Mahallat Abu Shaker Party headquarters' offices.
They also had a medical relief agency, designated the Lebanese Red Crescent Association (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
: جمعية الهلال الأحمر اللبناني , ''Jameiat al-Hilal al-Ahmar al-Lubnaniyya'') or l'Association du Croissant Rouge Libanais in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, best known as ''Al-hilal'' for short.
The Al-Murabitoun in the Lebanese Civil War
Ascendancy 1975–76
When the
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
broke out in April 1975, as a member of the LNM
the INM/Al-Murabitoun was an active founder of its military wing, the Joint Forces (LNM-JF). The movement claimed that was the first amongst the Lebanese "progressive" militias during the war,
and by 1977 it was the largest organization within the LNM-JF, both in terms of popular support and military capacity.
During the
1975-77 phase of the Lebanese Civil War, the al-Murabitoun militia forces were heavily committed in several battles and suffered considerable casualties, especially at the
Battle of the Hotels
The Battle of the Hotels ( ar, معركة الفنادق, ''Maʿrakah al-Fanādiq,'' French: Front des Hotels), was a subconflict within the 1975–77 phase of the Lebanese Civil War which occurred in the Minet-el-Hosn hotel district of downto ...
in October 1975 where they engaged Christian
Kataeb Regulatory Forces
The Kataeb Regulatory Forces – KRF ( ar, قوى الكتائب النظامية, translit=Quwwāt al-Katāʾib an-Niẓāmiyyah) or Forces Regulatoires des Kataeb (FRK) in French, were the military wing of the right-wing Lebanese Christian Ka ...
and
Tigers Militia
The Tigers militia ( ar, نمور الأحرار, transliterated: ''Numūr'' or ''Al-Noumour''), also known as NLP Tigers ( ar, links=no, نمور الأحرار , ''Numur al-Ahrar'') or PNL "Lionceaux" in French, was the military wing of the ...
fighters,
and later at the 'Spring Offensive' held against
East Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
and
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon ( ar, جَبَل لُبْنَان, ''jabal lubnān'', ; syr, ܛܘܪ ܠܒ݂ܢܢ, ', , ''ṭūr lewnōn'' french: Mont Liban) is a mountain range in Lebanon. It averages above in elevation, with its peak at .
Geography
The Mount Le ...
in March 1976. They also took part on January 20 of that same year in the violent (and controversial) sieges of the Christian towns of Es-Saadiyat,
Damour
Damour ( ar, الدامور) is a Lebanese Christian town that is south of Beirut. The name of the town is derived from the name of the Phoenician god Damoros who symbolized immortality ( in Arabic). Damour also remained the capital of Mount ...
, and
Jiyeh
Jieh (or Jiyé, Jiyeh, الجية) is a seaside town in Lebanon with an estimated population of 5000, 23 km south of Beirut, in the Chouf district via a 20-minute drive along the Beirut to Sidon highway south of the capital. In Phoenician tim ...
in the
Iqlim al-Kharrub Iqlim al-Kharrub is a geographic region in the western part of the Chouf District. Its inhabitants are mostly Sunni Muslims.
Geographic definition
The Iqlim al-Kharrub is a historical and socio-cultural region in the western part of the Chouf Dist ...
, on the side of PLO and
Palestine Liberation Army
The Palestine Liberation Army (PLA, ar, جيش التحرير الفلسطيني, ''Jaysh at-Tahrir al-Filastini'') is ostensibly the military wing of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), set up at the 1964 Arab League summit held in A ...
(PLA) units to avenge the earlier
Tel al-Zaatar massacre
The Siege of Tel al-Zaatar ( ar, حصار تل الزعتر, French: Siège de Tel al-Zaatar), alternatively known as the Massacre of Tel al-Zaatar, was an armed siege of Tel al-Zaatar (meaning ''Hill of Thyme'' in Arabic), a fortified, UNRWA-ad ...
by the
Lebanese Front
The Lebanese Front ( ar, الجبهة اللبنانية, ''al-Jabha al-Lubnaniyya'') or ''Front Libanais'' in French, was a coalition of mainly Lebanese Nationalist parties formed in 1976 by majority Christian intellectuals during the Lebane ...
militias.
Reversals 1976–82
The
Syrian military intervention of June 1976 – which the INM/al-Murabitoun initially strongly opposed, even fighting the
Syrian Army
" (''Guardians of the Homeland'')
, colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive
* Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki
, anniversaries = August 1st
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Six ...
at the
Battle of Bhamdoun in the
Aley District
Aley ( ar, عاليه) is a district (''qadaa'') in Mount Lebanon, Lebanon, to the south-east of the Lebanon's capital Beirut. The capital is Aley. Aley city was previously known as the "bride of the summers" during the 1960 and 1970s, when Aley ...
, but gradually came to terms with it
[Reilly, James A.]
Israel in Lebanon, 1975–82
" in ''MERIP Reports'', No. 108/109, The Lebanon War. (September–October, 1982), pp. 14–20. – and the slow decline of the Movement's political role at the beginning of the 1980s, caused their influence within the
Sunni community to wane, losing in the end its final base of support amongst the political and intellectual elites.
Towards the end of the 1970s heavy casualties and their involvement in atrocities against non-Muslims caused the number of militants from other sects in the ranks to drop sharply, a situation further aggrieved by internal splits that occurred at the early 1980s. This led a significant number of prominent
Sunnis
Sunni Islam () is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word ''Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia ...
– such as the jurist
Walid Eido
Waleed (), also spelt as Walid, Oualid, or Velid, is an Arabic-language masculine given name meaning ''newborn child''.
Given name Waleed
*Waleed Ali, Kuwaiti footballer
*Waleed Aly, Egyptian-origin Australian journalist
* Waleed bin Ibrahim al-Ib ...
and the activist Samir Sabbagh – to leave the INM leadership board to set up their own organizations, and thereby the Movement became an exclusively
Sunni
Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagr ...
force. Relations with its Lebanese coalition partners were also strained to the point of the al-Murabitoun battling rival Nasserite parties such as the
Nasserite Correctionist Movement
Nasserism ( ) is an Arab nationalist and Arab socialist political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and Egypt's second President. Spanning the domestic and ...
(NCM) in November 1975 over control of the
Karantina
La Quarantaine, which is colloquially referred to as Karantina (Arabic: الكرنتينا) and sometimes spelled Quarantina, is a predominantly low-income, mixed-use residential, commercial, and semi-industrial neighborhood in northeastern Beirut ...
district in East Beirut, later fighting the
Syrian Social Nationalist Party
The Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) or is a Syrian nationalist party operating in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine. It advocates the establishment of a Greater Syrian nation state spanning the Fertile Crescent, including present- ...
(SSNP) factions in 1980–81 for the possession of certain West Beirut quarters.
Nevertheless, the al-Murabitoun did not lose its military capabilities, and during the
June 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, they helped the PLO in the defense of the southwestern outskirts of the Lebanese Capital from
IDF
IDF or idf may refer to:
Defence forces
* Irish Defence Forces
* Israel Defense Forces
*Iceland Defense Force, of the US Armed Forces, 1951-2006
* Indian Defence Force, a part-time force, 1917
Organizations
* Israeli Diving Federation
* Interac ...
attacks until the end of the siege in September of that year.
The 1982 Israeli Judicial inquiry into
events in Beirut estimated that the strength of the al-Murabitoun in West Beirut was 7,000 fighters.
Decline and demise 1983–88
On January 29, 1983, the Israeli-run
Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners
The Front for the Liberation of Lebanon from Foreigners (FLLF) ( ar, جبهة تحرير لبنان من الغرباء, ), or (FLLE) in French language, French, was a formerly obscure underground militant organization that surfaced in Lebanon at ...
detonated a car bomb close to the
Fatah
Fatah ( ar, فتح '), formerly the Palestinian National Liberation Movement, is a Palestinian nationalist social democratic political party and the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...
HQ at
Chtaura
Chtaura ( ar, شتورا) is a town in Lebanon in the fertile Beqaa Valley, Beqaa valley located between the Mount Lebanon and Syria. It is located halfway on the Beirut - Damascus highway. It is located from Beirut.
Chtaura is the valley's hub ...
, and another in West Beirut, close to the HQ of the INM/al-Murabitoun. Some sixty people were killed and hundreds wounded.
Ibrahim Kulaylat emerged from the wreck of the LNM and the Palestinian withdrawal as the dominant Sunni leader, though he opted not to join the LNRF/
Jammoul
The Lebanese National Resistance Front – LNRF ( ar, جبهة المقاومة الوطنية اللبنانية, ''Jabhat al-Muqawama al-Wataniyya al-Lubnaniyya'') or Front National de la Résistance Libanaise (FNRL) in French, but best known ...
nor the pro-Syrian LNSF alliances in the mid-1980s, and consequently the political influence of the INM/al-Murabitoun had waned significantly.
[Russell, Tom.]
A Lebanon Primer
" in ''MERIP Reports'', No. 133. (June 1985), pp. 17–19. The Movement initially waged its own guerrilla war at the Beirut area against Israeli forces, but later fought in a more conventional fashion at the 1983–84
Mountain War
The Mountain War ( ar, حرب الجبل , ''Harb al-Jabal''), also known as the War of the Mountain and Guerre de la Montagne in French language, French, was a subconflict between the Lebanese Civil War#Second phase of the war.2C 1982-1983, 1 ...
allied with the
Druze
The Druze (; ar, دَرْزِيٌّ, ' or ', , ') are an Arabic-speaking esoteric ethnoreligious group from Western Asia who adhere to the Druze faith, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, syncretic, and ethnic religion based on the teachings of ...
PSP/PLA, the LCP/Popular Guard and SSNP in the
Chouf District
Chouf (also spelled Shouf, Shuf or Chuf, in ''Jabal ash-Shouf''; french: La Montagne du Chouf) is a historic region of Lebanon, as well as an administrative district in the governorate (muhafazat) of Mount Lebanon.
Geography
Located south-east o ...
against the Christian
Lebanese Forces
The Lebanese Forces ( ar, القوات اللبنانية '')'' is a Lebanese Christian-based political party and former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's parliament and is therefore th ...
(LF) and the Lebanese Army.
Later during the
Coastal War
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
in March–April 1985, the Al-Mourabitoun joined in a Syrian-backed coalition with the
Popular Nasserist Organization
The Popular Nasserist Organization – PNO ( ar, التنظيم الشعبي الناصري, translit=Al-Tanzim al-Sha'aby al-Nassery) or Organisation Populaire Nassérienne (OPN) in French, is a Sidon-based Nasserist party originally formed i ...
(PNO), the Druze PSP/PLA and the
Shi'ite
Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, most n ...
Amal Movement, which defeated the Christian
Lebanese Forces
The Lebanese Forces ( ar, القوات اللبنانية '')'' is a Lebanese Christian-based political party and former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's parliament and is therefore th ...
(LF) attempts to establish bridgeheads at
Damour
Damour ( ar, الدامور) is a Lebanese Christian town that is south of Beirut. The name of the town is derived from the name of the Phoenician god Damoros who symbolized immortality ( in Arabic). Damour also remained the capital of Mount ...
and
Sidon
Sidon ( ; he, צִידוֹן, ''Ṣīḏōn'') known locally as Sayda or Saida ( ar, صيدا ''Ṣaydā''), is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate, of which it is the capital, on the Mediterranean coast. ...
.
This alliance was short-lived, however, and when the
War of the Camps
The War of the Camps ( ar, حرب المخيمات, ''Harb al-mukhayimat''), was a subconflict within the 1984–1990 phase of the Lebanese Civil War, in which the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut were besieged by the Shia Amal militia. ...
broke out in April 1985 at West Beirut, it saw the Al-Mourabitoun allied with the PLO, the Nasserite
Sixth of February Movement, the
Communist Action Organization in Lebanon
The Communist Action Organization in Lebanon – CAOL ( ar, منظمة العمل الشيوعي في لبنان , ''munaẓẓamah al-‘amal al-shuyū‘ī fī lubnān''), also known as Organization of Communist Action in Lebanon (OCAL) or Orga ...
(OCAL), and the
Kurdish Democratic Party – Lebanon (KDP-L) pitted against a powerful coalition of PSP/PLA, LCP/Popular Guard and Shia
Amal movement militia forces backed by
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
,
[Stork, Joe.]
The War of the Camps, The War of the Hostages
" in ''MERIP Reports'', No. 133. (June 1985), pp. 3–7, 22. the
Lebanese Army
)
, founded = 1 August 1945
, current_form = 1991
, disbanded =
, branches = Lebanese Ground ForcesLebanese Air Force Lebanese Navy
, headquarters = Yarze, Lebanon
, flying_hours =
, websit ...
, and anti-
Arafat dissident Palestinian guerrilla factions. Eventually, the Al-Murabitoun was crushed after a week of heavy fighting,
[William E. Smith, "Lebanon: A Country's Slow Death", ''Time'', April 29, 1985, p. 46.] and ceased to exist as a significant fighting force.
Thus deprived from its own military wing, the weakened INM went underground again for the remainder of the war and gradually withered away, forcing Ibrahim Kulaylat to flee the Country in 1986 to seek asylum in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
.
Some remnants of the Al-Murabitoun, however, remained at large in West Beirut, waging a fierce guerrilla war against the
Syrian Army
" (''Guardians of the Homeland'')
, colors = * Service uniform: Khaki, Olive
* Combat uniform: Green, Black, Khaki
, anniversaries = August 1st
, equipment =
, equipment_label =
, battles = 1948 Arab–Israeli War
Six ...
until February 1987, only to be brutally suppressed in the 1987–88 anti-militia sweeps carried out jointly by
Syrian Commando troops and the Lebanese
Internal Security Forces
The Internal Security Forces Directorate ( ar, المديرية العامة لقوى الأمن الداخلي, al-Mudiriyya al-'aamma li-Qiwa al-Amn al-Dakhili; french: Forces de Sécurité Intérieure; abbreviated ISF) is the national police ...
(ISF).
The post-war years
After a long period of inactivity throughout the 1990s, the INM finally returned to the spotlight in April 2001, when they announced in a press conference held in Beirut their official comeback to Lebanese domestic politics. In 2006 it re-opened offices in Beirut, the North (
Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
and the
Akkar
Akkar District ( ar, قضاء عكار) is the only district in Akkar Governorate, Lebanon. It is coextensive with the governorate and covers an area of . The UNHCR estimated the population of the district to be 389,899 in 2015, including 106,935 ...
), the
Beqaa Valley
The Beqaa Valley ( ar, links=no, وادي البقاع, ', Lebanese ), also transliterated as Bekaa, Biqâ, and Becaa and known in classical antiquity as Coele-Syria, is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon. It is Lebanon's most important ...
and the South (
Jabal Amel
Jabal Amil ( ar, جبل عامل, Jabal ʿĀmil), also spelled Jabal Amel and historically known as Jabal Amila, is a cultural and geographic region in Southern Lebanon largely associated with its long-established, predominantly Twelver Shia Musl ...
). The movement is still headed by Ibrahim Kulaylat.
See also
*
Arab Socialist Union (Lebanon)
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
*
Coastal War
The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...
*
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War ( ar, الحرب الأهلية اللبنانية, translit=Al-Ḥarb al-Ahliyyah al-Libnāniyyah) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities a ...
*
Lebanese Communist Party
The Lebanese Communist Party (LCP), abbr. PCL is a communist party in Lebanon. It was founded in 1924 by the Lebanese intellectual, writer and reporter Yusuf Yazbek and Fu'ad al-Shamali, a tobacco worker from Bikfaya.
History
Creation
The Syr ...
*
Lebanese National Movement
The Lebanese National Movement (LNM) ( ar, الحركة الوطنية اللبنانية, ''Al-Harakat al-Wataniyya al-Lubnaniyya'') or Mouvement National Libanais (MNL) in French, was a front of leftist, pan-Arabist and Syrian nationalist par ...
*
List of weapons of the Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multi-sided military conflict that pitted a variety of local irregular militias, both Muslim and Christian, against each other between 1975 and 1990.
A wide variety of weapons were used by the different armies and ...
*
People's Liberation Army (Lebanon)
The People's Liberation Army – PLA (Arabic: جيش التحرير الشعبي , ''Jayish al-Tahrir al-Sha'aby'') or Armée de Libération Populaire (ALP) in French, also known as the Forces of the Martyr Kamal Jumblatt (Arabic: قوات ا ...
*
Popular Guard
The Popular Guard or Popular Guards – PG ( ar, الحرس الشعبي , ''Al-Harās al-Sha‘abī'') or Garde Populaire – GP in French, was the military wing of the Lebanese Communist Party (LCP), which fought in the 1975–1977 phase of ...
*
Popular Nasserist Organization
The Popular Nasserist Organization – PNO ( ar, التنظيم الشعبي الناصري, translit=Al-Tanzim al-Sha'aby al-Nassery) or Organisation Populaire Nassérienne (OPN) in French, is a Sidon-based Nasserist party originally formed i ...
*
Progressive Socialist Party
The Progressive Socialist Party ( ar, الحزب التقدمي الاشتراكي, translit=al-Hizb al-Taqadummi al-Ishtiraki) is a Lebanese political party. Its confessional base is in the Druze sect and its regional base is in Mount Lebanon ...
*
Sixth of February Movement
*
Nasserism
Nasserism ( ) is an Arab nationalist and Arab socialist political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and Egypt's second President. Spanning the domestic a ...
*
War of the Camps
The War of the Camps ( ar, حرب المخيمات, ''Harb al-mukhayimat''), was a subconflict within the 1984–1990 phase of the Lebanese Civil War, in which the Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut were besieged by the Shia Amal militia. ...
*
6th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)
The 6th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active since its creation in January 1983.
Origins
In the aftermath of the June–September 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, President Amin ...
*
8th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)
The 8th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active since its creation in January 1983.
Origins
In the aftermath of the June–September 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, President Am ...
Notes
References
* Afaf Sabeh McGowan, John Roberts, As'ad Abu Khalil, and Robert Scott Mason, ''Lebanon: a country study'', area handbook series, Headquarters, Department of the Army (DA Pam 550-24), Washington D.C. 1989.
*Beate Hamizrachi, ''The Emergence of South Lebanon Security Belt'', Praeger Publishers Inc, New York 1984.
*Boutros Labaki & Khalil Abou Rjeily, ''Bilan des guerres du Liban (1975-1990)'', Collection "Comprendre le Moyen-Orient", Éditions L'Harmattan, Paris 1993. (in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
)
* Denise Ammoun, ''Histoire du Liban contemporain: Tome 2 1943-1990'', Fayard, Paris 2005. (in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
)
*
Edgar O'Ballance
Major Edgar “Paddy” O'Ballance (17 July 1918, Dublin, Ireland – 8 July 2009, Wakebridge, Derbyshire, England) was an Irish-born British military journalist, researcher, defence commentator and academic lecturer specialising in inter ...
, ''Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92'', Palgrave Macmillan, London 1998.
* Farid El-Kazen, ''The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon 1967-1976'', I.B. Tauris, London 2000.
* Fawwaz Traboulsi, ''Identités et solidarités croisées dans les conflits du Liban contemporain; Chapitre 12: L'économie politique des milices: le phénomène mafieux'', Thèse de Doctorat d'Histoire – 1993, Université de Paris VIII, 2007. (in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
)
* Fawwaz Traboulsi, ''A History of Modern Lebanon: Second Edition'', Pluto Press, London 2012.
* Paul Jureidini, R. D. McLaurin, and James Price, ''Military operations in selected Lebanese built-up areas, 1975-1978'', Aberdeen, MD: U.S. Army Human Engineering Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Technical Memorandum 11-79, June 1979.
* Rex Brynen, ''Sanctuary and Survival: the PLO in Lebanon'', Boulder: Westview Press, Oxford 1990.
*
Robert Fisk
Robert Fisk (12 July 194630 October 2020) was a writer and journalist who held British and Irish citizenship. He was critical of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, and the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. His stanc ...
, ''Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War'', London: Oxford University Press, (3rd ed. 2001).
* Marius Deeb, ''The Lebanese Civil War'', Praeger Publishers Inc, New York 1980.
*Samir Makdisi and Richard Sadaka, ''The Lebanese Civil War, 1975-1990'', American University of Beirut, Institute of Financial Economics, Lecture and Working Paper Series (2003 No.3), pp. 1–53.
*Tony Badran (Barry Rubin ed.), ''Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis'', Palgrave Macmillan, London 2010.
Secondary sources
* Éric Micheletti, ''Autopsie de la Guerre au Liban'', RAIDS magazine n.º100, September 1994 special issue. (in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
)
* Moustafa El-Assad, ''Civil Wars Volume 1: The Gun Trucks'', Blue Steel books, Sidon 2008.
* Naomi Joy Weinberger, ''Syrian Intervention in Lebanon: The 1975-76 Civil War'', Oxford University Press, Oxford 1986. , 0195040104
* Samer Kassis, ''30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon'', Beirut: Elite Group, 2003.
* Samer Kassis, ''Véhicules Militaires au Liban/Military Vehicles in Lebanon 1975-1981'', Trebia Publishing, Chyah 2012.
* Samer Kassis, ''Invasion of Lebanon 1982'', Abteilung 502, 2019.
* Samuel M. Katz, Lee E. Russel, and Ron Volstad, ''Armies in Lebanon 1982-84'', Men-at-arms series 165, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1985.
* Steven J. Zaloga, Jim Kinnear and Peter Sarson, ''T-34-85 Medium Tank 1944-94'', New Vanguard series 20, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 1996.
*Steven J. Zaloga and Peter Bull, ''Staghound armored car 1942-62'', New Vanguard series 159, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2000.
* Steven J. Zaloga, ''Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2): The wars of 1973 to the present'', Concord Publications, Hong Kong 2003.
* Leroy Thompson, ''The G3 Battle Rifle'', Weapon series 68, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2019.
* William W. Harris, ''Faces of Lebanon: Sects, Wars, and Global Extensions'', Princeton Series on the Middle East, Markus Wiener Publishers, 1997. , 1-55876-115-2
*Zachary Sex & Bassel Abi-Chahine, ''Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond'', Modern Conflicts Profile Guide Volume II, AK Interactive, 2021. ISBN 8435568306073
External links
Chamussy (René) – Chronique d'une guerre: Le Liban 1975-1977 – éd. Desclée – 1978(in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
)
Movement of Independent Nasserists - al-MurabitunMagazine Al- Rassed/ Electronic editionNasserist Movement - Al-MourabitounAl-Mourabitoun vehicles in the Lebanese civil war
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mourabitoun
1957 establishments in Lebanon
Arab nationalism in Lebanon
Arab nationalist militant groups
Factions in the Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese National Movement
Nasserist political parties
Nationalist parties in Lebanon
Political parties established in 1957
Socialist parties in Lebanon
Organizations designated as terrorist by Canada