On January 15, 1986, forces loyal to Lebanese president
Amine Gemayel and
Samir Geagea
Samir Farid Geagea ( ar, سمير فريد جعجع Lebanese pron.: , also spelled Samir Ja'ja'; born 25 October 1952) is a Lebanese politician and militia commander who has been leading the Lebanese Forces party and dissolved militia ...
, intelligence chief of the
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), ousted
Elie Hobeika
Elie Hobeika ( ar, إيلي حبيقة; 22 September 1956 – 24 January 2002) was a Lebanese militia commander in the Lebanese Forces militia during the Lebanese Civil War and one of Bashir Gemayel's close confidants. After the murder of Gem ...
from his position as leader of the LF and replaced him with Geagea. The coup came in response to Hobeika's signing of the Syrian-sponsored
Tripartite Accord that aimed to put an end to 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 ...
.
Background
The tussle between Samir Geagea and Elie Hobeika for control over the Lebanese Forces (LF) had started as early as March 1985. That same month, Samir Geagea gained control over the LF after defeating the last leader of the Phalangist militia,
Fouad Abou Nader
Fouad Abou Nader ( ar, فؤاد أبو ناضر) is a Lebanese Christian politician and former leader of the Lebanese Forces. A grandson of the Kataeb Party founder Pierre Gemayel, Abou Nader became a Kataeb party activist and head of the eli ...
. In May of that same year, however, Elie Hobeika was appointed to lead that unit. In December 1985, Hobeika signed in the name of the LF an agreement with the Syrian government, 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 ...
Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) led by
Walid Jumblatt
Walid Kamal Jumblatt ( ar, وليد جنبلاط; born 7 August 1949) is a Lebanese Druze politician and former militia commander who has been leading the Progressive Socialist Party since 1977. While leading the Lebanese National Resistance Fr ...
, and the
Shia Muslim Amal Movement headed by
Nabih Berri, which became known as the Tripartite Accord. One of the cornerstones of the agreement was the disbandment of Lebanese militia forces. It also provided for initiating political changes that would end Christian dominance of the Lebanese parliament and army.
There was a dispute over whether to retain links with Israel and how to react to Syrian-sponsored negotiations to end the fighting. Hobeika broke LF links with Israel and supported the negotiations between the LF, the Lebanese government, Syria, and
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 ...
leaders such as
Walid Jumblatt
Walid Kamal Jumblatt ( ar, وليد جنبلاط; born 7 August 1949) is a Lebanese Druze politician and former militia commander who has been leading the Progressive Socialist Party since 1977. While leading the Lebanese National Resistance Fr ...
. Geagea opposed the negotiations which he claimed would make unacceptable concessions to Syria and weaken the Lebanese Christian community's political power.
In October 1985, with negotiations in progress, skirmishes took place between Geagea's supporters and Hobeika's supporters, where hobeika's supporters tried to bribe geagea's supporter's to betray Geagea. In December 1985, a peace agreement, the Tripartite Accord, was reached. It was signed by Hobeika for the LF, but the LF Command Council was split, with only half agreeing with the deal. In addition, the agreement was criticized by the former President of Lebanon
Camille Chamoun and leader of the predominately
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 ...
National Liberal Party (NLP), and by some
Maronite Church leaders because they felt that this agreement was one sided favoring the muslim communities in lebanon.
The coup
Samir Geagea and president Amine Gemayel decided not to accept the agreement, with Geagea's LF faction attacking Hobeika's LF Loyalists' positions in east Beirut on 8 January 1986, being backed by 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 ...
's
9th Brigade.
[Barak, ''The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society'' (2009), p. 115.] On 13 January, in a bid to greatly extend Hobeika's own power, his faction stepped up the conflict by assaulting the positions held by the
Kataeb Party militia loyal to Amine Gemayel. The Kataeb party leader, Amine Gemayel, was at the time serving as president of Lebanon.
The support of the Kataeb to the pro-Geagea LF faction during the conflict that ensued proved decisive in the defeat of Hobeika, resulting in his ousting from the command of the LF, which was subsequently taken over by the victorious Geagea. The defeated Hobeika escaped from east Beirut in a helicopter and made his way to the town of
Zahle in the Syrian-controlled
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 ...
, where he rallied his remaining supporters to form the dissident
Lebanese Forces – Executive Command (LFEC) militia sponsored by Syria. Later, Geagea attacked the Kataeb that supported him and started a consolidation of power campaign which resulted in crippling the Kataeb.
See also
*
Amal Movement
*
Lebanese Armed Forces
*
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 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 ...
*
Lebanese Forces – Executive Command
*
Mountain War (Lebanon)
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 ...
*
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 ...
*
Young Men (Lebanon)
*
9th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)
The 9th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon) is a Lebanese Army unit that fought in the Lebanese Civil War, being active since its creation in January 1984.
Origins
In the aftermath of the June–September 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon, President Amin ...
Notes
References
*
*
*Oren Barak, ''The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society'', State University of New York Press, Albany 2009.
*Thomas Collelo (ed.), ''Lebanon: a country study'', Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Headquarters, Department of the Army (DA Pam 550-24), Washington D.C., December 1987 (Third edition 1989).
Further reading
* Denise Ammoun, ''Histoire du Liban contemporain: Tome 2 1943-1990'', Fayard, Paris 2005. (in
French language, French)
*
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.
* Éric Micheletti and Yves Debay, ''Liban – dix jours aux cœur des combats'', RAIDS magazine n.º41, October 1989 issue. (in
French language, French)
*Joseph Hokayem, ''L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975-1985)'', Lulu.com, Beyrouth 2012. , 1291036601 (in
French language, French)
* Ken Guest, ''Lebanon'', in ''Flashpoint! At the Front Line of Today's Wars'', Arms and Armour Press, London 1994, pp. 97–111.
* Matthew S. Gordon, ''The Gemayels'' (World Leaders Past & Present), Chelsea House Publishers, 1988.
*
Robert Fisk, ''Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War'', London: Oxford University Press, (3rd ed. 2001).
* Samuel M. Katz, Lee E. Russel, and Ron Volstad, ''Armies in Lebanon 1982-84'', Men-at-Arms series 165, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1985.
* Samuel M. Katz and Ron Volstad, ''Arab Armies of the Middle East wars 2'', Men-at-Arms series 194, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1988.
* Steven J. Zaloga, ''Tank battles of the Mid-East Wars (2): The wars of 1973 to the present'', Concord Publications, Hong Kong 1998.
External links
Histoire militaire de l'armée libanaise de 1975 à 1990(in
French language, French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geagea-Hobeika Conflict
Conflicts in 1986
Battles of the Lebanese Civil War
1986 in Lebanon