Ansar (; also spelled Insar) is a village in the

Nabatieh Governorate Nabatieh Governorate ( ar, محافظة النبطية, ') is one of the nine governorates of Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in West ...

region of southern

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 ...

located between

Nabatieh Nabatieh ( ar, النبطية, links=no, ', ), or Nabatîyé (), is the city of the Nabatieh Governorate, in southern Lebanon. The population is not accurately known as no census has been taken in Lebanon since the 1930s; estimates range from ...

and

Tyre, Lebanon Tyre (; ar, صور, translit=Ṣūr; phn, 𐤑𐤓, translit=Ṣūr, Greek language, Greek ''Tyros'', Τύρος) is a city in Lebanon, one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continually inhabited cities in the world, t ...

, next to the village of Doueir. It has a population of 31,970.

History

After the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, 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 ...

built a prison camp outside Ansar. The prisoners lived in tents with the camp divided into sections, each containing fifty 3x3 metre tents and surrounded by 4 metre high barbed wire fences. At its peak the camp held 9,000 prisoners. Six months after the camp was opened the commanding officer was replaced following reports of routine beatings, food and water being withheld, prisoners blindfolded for long periods and insufficient sanitation. In February 1983, during a mass hunger strike, several prisoners were shot dead. On the first anniversary of the invasion there were demonstrations during which guards were afraid to enter the compounds. On 8 August 1983, several prisoners escaped in a tunnel that had taken 45 days to dig. In October three prisoners were buried alive after the guards discovered their tunnel. The following month 4,500 prisoners from Ansar were released in exchange for six Israeli soldiers held by the PLO. Previously 200 prisoners had been transferred to Israel. They were not included in the exchange. 1,100 of those released were bussed into Israel and then flown to

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. The Israeli prisoners were taken in a small boat to a French warship off

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 ...

. A new camp was subsequently built close by with huts instead of tents. By January 1984 it held 200 prisoners. In 1985 one source estimated that the camp held 15,000 prisoners, mainly Lebanese Shiites. An Israel Army reservist who had served at Ansar was quoted in the newspaper ''

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or night. It consists primarily of the evening ''Shema'' and '' Amidah''. The service will often begin with two verses from Psalms, ...

'' as saying that the old camp had been sitting on top of a tunnel system. In 1988 when the Israeli army opened a prison camp in the

Negev The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its southe ...

close to the Egyptian border,

Ktzi'ot Prison Ktzi'ot Prison (, ) is an Israeli detention facility located in the Negev desert south-west of Beersheba. It is Israel's largest detention facility in terms of land area, encompassing . It is also the largest detention camp in the world. During ...

, to hold prisoners detained during the

First Intifada The First Intifada, or First Palestinian Intifada (also known simply as the intifada or intifadah),The word ''intifada'' () is an Arabic word meaning "uprising". Its strict Arabic transliteration is '. was a sustained series of Palestinian ...

, it became known as Ansar III. It is still being used. During the

2006 Lebanon War The 2006 Lebanon War, also called the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah War and known in Lebanon as the July War ( ar, حرب تموز, ''Ḥarb Tammūz'') and in Israel as the Second Lebanon War ( he, מלחמת לבנון השנייה, ''Milhemet Leva ...

, the village was bombed by Israeli forces and five civilians were killed.HRW, 2007, p
132
/ref> Ansar is the hometown of the poet and journalist

Said Fayad Mohammad Said Ibrahim Efendi Fayad (; 1921–2003) known as Said Fayad, was a Lebanese poet and literary journalist from the village of Ansar in the Nabatieh Governorate of southern Lebanon. Personal life Fayad was the eldest son of Ibrahim ...

(1921 - 2003).

References

Bibliography

External links

Insar
Localiban {{Nabatieh District Populated places in Nabatieh District