The War of Elimination (

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: حرب الإلغاء or War of Attrition, also known as the Aoun-Geagea War) was an inter-

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

military conflict within the final phase of the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

as part of the War of Liberation which took place between January and October 1990. It was fought between the

Lebanese Army The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; ), also known as the Lebanese Army (), is the national military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three branches, the ground forces, the air force, and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is ...

, led by General Michel Aoun, and the

Lebanese Forces The Lebanese Forces ( ') is a Lebanon, Lebanese Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-based political party and Lebanese Forces (militia), former militia during the Lebanese Civil War. It currently holds 19 of the 128 seats in Lebanon's Parliamen ...

, led by

Samir Geagea Samir Farid Geagea (, , also spelled Samir Ja'ja' ; born 25 October 1952) is a Lebanese politician and former militia commander who has been the leader of the Lebanese Forces Lebanese Forces, political party and Lebanese Forces (militia ...

. The confrontation led to the total devastation of the Eastern Canton and ended with the

Syrian army The Syrian Army is the land force branch of the Syrian Armed Forces. Up until the fall of the Assad regime, the Syrian Arab Army existed as a land force branch of the Syrian Arab Armed Forces, which dominanted the military service of the fo ...

invading the Christian areas, Aoun's exile to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and subsequently the end of the civil war.

Background

On 22 September 1988, Michel Aoun, the commander of the Army at the time, was appointed by president

Amine Gemayel Amine Pierre Gemayel (, ; born 22 January 1942) is a Lebanese politician who served as the eighth president of Lebanon from 1982 to 1988. Gemayel was born in Bikfaya to Pierre Gemayel, the founder of the Christianity in Lebanon, Christian Kat ...

as the head of the

Lebanese government Lebanon is a Parliamentary republic, parliamentary Democracy, democratic republic within the overall framework of Confessionalism (politics), confessionalism, a form of consociationalism in which the highest offices are proportionately reserv ...

. On 14 March 1989, Aoun declared the War of Liberation against the Syrian occupation army in Lebanon. On 31 January 1990, Aoun launched an offensive against the

in East Beirut. In the months that followed, over 1000 people were killed. A month later in March, Aoun declared a halt to the fighting and announced his willingness to accept the

Taif Agreement The 1989 Taif Agreement (, ), officially known as the ('')'', was reached to provide "the basis for the ending of the civil war and the return to political normalcy in Lebanon". Negotiated in Taif, Saudi Arabia, it was designed to end the 15 y ...

with some amendments. This confrontation ended with the Syrian army invading the Christian areas, the exile of Aoun to

, and Geagea's imprisonment after three years, due to a disagreement with the Syrians.

Etymology

The conflict came to be known as the ''war of elimination'' (حرب الإلغاء), the term which was used by the LF to denote the attempt by Aoun to eliminate it. However, Aoun used the term ''Weapon Unification Battle'' (معركة توحيد البندقية) since he claimed his purpose was to submit all weapons in the country to the Lebanese Army. Nonetheless, the weapons are still possessed today by parties other than the government, like

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

Allegations

Some believe that the war was agreed between Aoun and the Syrians, in order to eliminate the Lebanese Forces and allow the Syrian army to enter the Christian Area, in return for Aoun's presidency. However, when the Syrians did not keep the promise, he declared the War of Liberation on the Syrians. However, 26 years later, in 2016 Aoun became the

president of Lebanon The president of the Lebanese Republic () is the head of state of Lebanon. The president is elected by the parliament for a term of six years, which cannot be renewed immediately because they can only be renewed non-consecutively. By convention, ...

References

Bibliography

* Barry Rubin (editor), ''Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis'', Middle East in Focus, Palgrave Macmillan, London 2009. �

*

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 internatio ...

, ''Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92'', Palgrave Macmillan, London 1998. * Hassan Krayem, ''The Lebanese Civil War and the Taif Agreement'', American University of Beirut, in collaboration with ''Al Mashriq'' of Høgskolen i Østfold, Norway, 981125 PN (no date) �

* Paul E. Salem, ''Two Years of Living Dangerously: General Awn and Precarious Rise of Lebanon's Second Republic'', The Beirut Review Vol. 1, No. 1 (spring 1991): 62-87. *

Robert Fisk Robert William Fisk (12 July 194630 October 2020) was an English writer and journalist. He was critical of United States foreign policy in the Middle East, and the Israeli government's treatment of Palestinians. As an international correspo ...

, ''Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War'', London: Oxford University Press, (3rd ed. 2001). �

* Oren Barak, ''The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society'', State University of New York Press, Albany 2009. �

*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. �

* 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). �

*Tony Badran (Barry Rubin ed.), ''Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis'', Palgrave Macmillan, London 2010. {{refend

External links