Lebanese National Movement
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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 Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
,
pan-Arabist 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 ...
and
Syrian nationalist Syrian nationalism, also known as Pan-Syrian nationalism (or pan-Syrianism), refers to the nationalism of the region of Syria, as a cultural or political entity known as " Greater Syria". It should not be confused with the Arab nationalism that ...
parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature fo ...
and
organizations An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose. The word is derived from ...
active during the early years of 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 ...
, which supported 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). It was headed 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 ...
, a prominent
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 ...
leader of 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). The Vice-President was Inaam Raad, leader of 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- ...
and
Assem Qanso Muhammad Assem Qanso ( ar, عاصم قانصوه, born 1937 in Baalbek) is a Lebanese politician. He is a former leader of the Lebanese Ba'ath Party. Political career Qanso joined the Lebanese Ba'ath in 1953. During the Lebanese war, the Leba ...
of the pro-Syrian Lebanese Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. The general secretary of the LNM was
Mohsen Ibrahim Mohsin Ibrahim ( ar, محسن إبراهيم ''Muḥsin ‘Ibrāhīm''), kunya Abu Khaled (; 1935 – June 3, 2020), was a Lebanese politician. He was a prominent personality of the Lebanese and Arab left. Initially a Nasserist nationalist, he ...
, leader of 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 ...
(CAOL). The LNM was one of two main coalitions during the first rounds of fighting in the Lebanese Civil War, the other being the militias of the mainly
Christian 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 ...
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 ...
, which comprised the
Phalange The phalanges (singular: ''phalanx'' ) are digital bones in the hands and feet of most vertebrates. In primates, the thumbs and big toes have two phalanges while the other digits have three phalanges. The phalanges are classed as long bones. ...
, the National Liberal Party and others; as well as parts of the
Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...
-dominated central government.


Composition

The Lebanese National Movement had its genesis in a previous organization, the Front of National and Progressive Parties and Forces – FNPPF (
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 ...
: ''Jabhat al-Ahzab wa al-Quwa al-Taqaddumiyya wa al-Wataniyya'') or "Front for Progressive Parties and National Forces" (FPPNF), also known as the "Revisionist Front", an alliance of anti-status quo political parties originally formed in 1969, which later ran in the 1972 general elections on a
reformist Reformism is a political doctrine advocating the reform of an existing system or institution instead of its abolition and replacement. Within the socialist movement, reformism is the view that gradual changes through existing institutions can eve ...
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
platform. Overwhelmingly left-wing and
Pan-Arabist 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 ...
in both its composition and orientation, the LNM claimed to be a " democratic, progressive and
non-sectarian Nonsectarian institutions are secular institutions or other organizations not affiliated with or restricted to a particular religious group. Academic sphere Examples of US universities that identify themselves as being nonsectarian include Adelp ...
" broad organization that gathered parties and organizations opposing the
Maronite The Maronites ( ar, الموارنة; syr, ܡܖ̈ܘܢܝܐ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group native to the Eastern Mediterranean and Levant region of the Middle East, whose members traditionally belong to the Maronite Church, with the larges ...
-dominated
sectarian Sectarianism is a political or cultural conflict between two groups which are often related to the form of government which they live under. Prejudice, discrimination, or hatred can arise in these conflicts, depending on the political status quo ...
order 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 ...
. It was reorganized as the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) in the 1970s, and 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 ...
as the main force on the anti-government side in the early years of 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 ...
. Among the members were 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), 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), 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) and several
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 ...
groups. It was also joined by
Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
factions based in Lebanon's
refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...
s, mainly from the
Rejectionist Front The Rejectionist Front (Arabic: جبهة الرفض) or Front of the Palestinian Forces Rejecting Solutions of Surrender (جبهة القوى الفلسطينية الرافضة للحلول الإستسلامية) was a political coalition formed ...
.


Membership and political organization

Its membership was overwhelmingly left-wing and professed to be secular, although the fairly obvious sectarian appeal of Jumblatt's
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) and some of 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 ...
Arab nationalist Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language an ...
organizations in some cases made this claim debatable. However, to say that the LNM was an all-
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
organization would be a gross
oversimplification The fallacy of the single cause, also known as complex cause, causal oversimplification, causal reductionism, and reduction fallacy, is an informal fallacy of questionable cause that occurs when it is assumed that there is a single, simple cause of ...
. Its main ideological positions were: the abrogation of sectarianism, political and social reforms, the clear proclamation of the Arab identity of
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 ...
, and increased support for the
Palestinians Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
. In order to coordinate the military and political actions of the LNM an executive structure, the Central Political Council – CPC (
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 ...
: ''Majliss Tajammu al-kinda'') or Bureau Politique Central (BPC) in French, was set up shortly after the outbreak of the hostilities at the town of
Aley Aley ( ar, عاليه) is a major city in Lebanon. It is the capital of the Aley District and fourth largest city in Lebanon. The city is located on Mount Lebanon, 15 km uphill from Beirut on the freeway to Damascus. Aley has the nickn ...
, a mountain tourist resort 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 ...
, which became the military headquarters of the Front. The Council was presided over from its inception by Kamal Jumblatt of the PSP, with
Mohsen Ibrahim Mohsin Ibrahim ( ar, محسن إبراهيم ''Muḥsin ‘Ibrāhīm''), kunya Abu Khaled (; 1935 – June 3, 2020), was a Lebanese politician. He was a prominent personality of the Lebanese and Arab left. Initially a Nasserist nationalist, he ...
of the OCAL appointed as Executive Secretary; after Kamal's death in 1977, he was replaced by his son
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 ...
, who led the LNM until 1982. Among the participants in the LNM were 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), 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 ...
(CAOL or OCAL), the PSP, the
Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon The Syrian Social Nationalist Party in Lebanon (SSNP-L) or is a Syrian nationalist party operating in Lebanon. The Lebanese section of the Syrian Social Nationalist Party advocates subsuming Lebanon into a Greater Syrian nation state spanning ...
(SSNP), both a Syrian-led Ba'ath Party branch and an Iraqi-led Ba'ath Party branch,
al-Mourabitoun 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 Mouveme ...
(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 ...
group) and several other minor Nasserist groupings. Several Palestinian organizations joined the LNM, notably many from the
Rejectionist Front The Rejectionist Front (Arabic: جبهة الرفض) or Front of the Palestinian Forces Rejecting Solutions of Surrender (جبهة القوى الفلسطينية الرافضة للحلول الإستسلامية) was a political coalition formed ...
. Both the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine 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 Marxist–Leninist and revolutionary soci ...
(PFLP) and the
Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine The Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP; ar, الجبهة الديموقراطية لتحرير فلسطين, ''al-Jabha al-Dīmūqrāṭiyya li-Taḥrīr Filasṭīn'') is a secular Palestinian Marxist–Leninist organi ...
(DFLP) were active participants. The
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 ...
Amal Movement, although supporting some of the LNM's positions, did not join it formally.


Minor groups

Above and beyond this, an 'alphabet soup' of other lesser-known smaller Parties were associated with the LNM, namely the Revolutionary Communist Group – RCG, the Lebanese Revolutionary Party – LRP, the Front of Patriotic Christians – PFC, the Democratic Lebanese Movement – DLM, the Movement of Arab Lebanon – MAL, the Arab Revolutionary Movement – ARM, the Partisans of the Revolution, the Vanguards of Popular Action – VPA, the Organization of Arab Youth – OAY, the Units of the Arab Call – UAC, the Movement of Arab Revolution – MAR, the Sixth of February Movement, the 24 October Movement – 24 OM, the
Lebanese Movement in Support of Fatah The Lebanese Movement in Support of Fatah – LMSF (Arabic: الحركة اللبنانية لدعم فتح , ''Al-Harakat al-Lubnaniyyat li daem Fath'') was established in 1968 by Dr. Usama Fakhuri, a second-rank Sunni politician opposed to lead ...
– LMSF, the
Union of Working People's Forces The Union of Working People's Forces – UWPF ( ar, اتحاد قوى الشعب العامل , ''Ittihâd qiwâ al-'amal al-cha'b al-'âmil''), also known as Union of Toiling Peoples' Forces (UTPF) or Union des Forces du Peuple Travailleur (UFPT) ...
– UWPF, the Union of Working People's Forces-Corrective Movement – UWPF-CM, the Knights of Ali, the Black Panthers, etc. Most of them were marginal political organizations of
revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...
or
populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...
trend (
Arab nationalist Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language an ...
,
libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...
/
anarchist Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
,
liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...
/
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 ...
, radical
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 ...
,
Marxist–Leninist Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialect ...
,
Hoxhaist Hoxhaism () is a variant of Anti-revisionism, anti-revisionist Marxism–Leninism that developed in the late 1970s due to a split in the anti-revisionist movement, appearing after the Sino-Albanian split, ideological dispute between the Chinese ...
,
Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
, or
Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
) that emerged in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and despite their rather limited base of support, they were quite active. Anti-status quo,
Pan-Arabist 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 ...
, and pro-Palestinian in policy, they strived for a social revolution that would transform Lebanese society, therefore sharing the same objectives as the leading LNM secular parties – the recognition of
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 ...
as an
Arab country The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...
and unwavering support for the PLO. However, apart this minority of committed idealists, the vast majority of the remainder 'movements' were actually façades or 'shops' (
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 ...
: ''dakakin'') – slightly politicised neighbourhood militias operating under grandiose pseudo-revolutionary labels – set up by PLO factions (mainly
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 ...
) in a misguided effort to widen its base of local support among the unemployed Lebanese urban youth. In most cases, their small, poorly disciplined, ill-equipped militia establishments were ''ad hoc'' formations made of lightly armed and largely untrained
Christian 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 ...
or
Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
youths that rarely surpassed the 100-300 fighters' mark – about the size of an understrength
company A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
or
battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,200 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies (usually each commanded by a major or a captain). In some countries, battalions are ...
. Some groupings were lucky enough to possess a few
technical Technical may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle * Technical analysis, a discipline for forecasting the future direction of prices through the study of past market data * Technical drawing, showing how something is co ...
s armed with
heavy machine-gun 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 ...
s and
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 but others, for the most part, fought on foot as
light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...
, with
small arms A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions). The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes c ...
pilfered from the government forces, acquired on the black market or obtained via the Palestinian factions. Those groups either unable or unwilling to raise their own militias played a political role only by engaging in propaganda activities, keeping themselves out of the 1975-76 savage street battles and sectarian killings, with some of their militants preferring instead to join the medical relief agencies organized by the LNM. The decline of the LNM in the late 1970s, culminating in its collapse in the aftermath of the Israeli invasion of June 1982, sounded the death toll for many of the minor Lebanese leftist organizations. As the war progressed, many of these small factions – at least the more politically oriented ones – were destroyed in the violent power struggles of the 1980s. For the most part forced to go underground, some evolved to
Islamic fundamentalist Islamic fundamentalism has been defined as a puritanical, revivalist, and reform movement of Muslims who aim to return to the founding scriptures of Islam. Islamic fundamentalists are of the view that Muslim-majority countries should return t ...
groups, whilst the less politicized simply degenerated into criminal street-gangs that engaged in assassinations, theft, smuggling, and extortion. As a result, only a small fraction of the truly ideologically committed groupings managed to survive the war to re-emerge in the 1990s as politically active organizations.


Military strength and organization

At the beginning of the war in 1975, the different LNM militias were grouped into a military wing, designated the "Common 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 ...
: القوات المشتركة, ''Al-Quwwat al-Mushtaraka''), but best known as "Joint Forces" (LNM-JF), which numbered some 18,700 militiamen (not including allied Palestinian factions). Manpower was distributed as follows: the PSP militia (the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...
) and the LCP militia (the
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 ...
) each had 5,000 men; the SSNP militia had 4,000 men; and the pro-Iraqi Ba'athists, the pro-Syria Ba'athists, and
al-Mourabitoun 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 Mouveme ...
militia 3,000 each. The others militias shared the remainder. Eventually, this number was due to increase in the following months with the inclusion of 23,900 Palestinian guerrilla fighters from both the
Rejectionist Front The Rejectionist Front (Arabic: جبهة الرفض) or Front of the Palestinian Forces Rejecting Solutions of Surrender (جبهة القوى الفلسطينية الرافضة للحلول الإستسلامية) was a political coalition formed ...
(RF) and mainstream PLO factions, later joined by 4,400 Lebanese regular soldiers from the
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 ...
(LAA) led by Lt.
Ahmad al-Khatib Ahmad Hasan al-Khatib ( ar, أحمد حسن الخطيب; 1933–1982) was a Syrian politician. He was a ceremonial head of state of Syria, appointed by Hafez al-Assad to replace the ousted president Nureddin al-Atassi. Ahmad al-Khatib was a civ ...
who went over to the LNM-PLO side in January 1976. In the end, the LNM-PLO-LAA combined military forces reached an impressive total of 46,900 left-wing troops by March that year, aligned against the 15,000-18,000 right-wing troops their
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 ...
adversaries were able to muster.


Sponsor countries and organizations

The LNM-JF received financial aid and arms from many countries such as
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
and
South Yemen South Yemen ( ar, اليمن الجنوبي, al-Yaman al-Janubiyy), officially the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (, ), also referred to as Democratic Yemen (, ) or Yemen (Aden) (, ), was a communist state that existed from 1967 to 19 ...
, in addition to Palestinian support; besides lending their political backing and contributing with their organizational skills, experienced Palestinian cadres from RF and PLO groups provided weapons, equipment, and in many cases, military leadership to the Lebanese leftist militias. In addition, they also provided training, which was conducted at the
refugee camp A refugee camp is a temporary settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for internally displaced peo ...
s in the major cities or at PLO bases in southern Lebanon, mainly in 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 ...
(a.k.a. "Fatahland").


Participation in the Lebanese Civil War 1975-1982

As fighting escalated, the LNM allied itself with the umbrella
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), and by early 1976 the LNM controlled 80% of Lebanon's territory. But as its relations with
Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...
deteriorated, the pro-Syrian Ba'ath branch,
Union of Working People's Forces The Union of Working People's Forces – UWPF ( ar, اتحاد قوى الشعب العامل , ''Ittihâd qiwâ al-'amal al-cha'b al-'âmil''), also known as Union of Toiling Peoples' Forces (UTPF) or Union des Forces du Peuple Travailleur (UFPT) ...
and an important SSNP faction left the movement, and formed alongside Amal Movement the
Front of Patriotic and National Parties The Front of Patriotic and National Parties – FPNP (Arabic: جبهة الأحزاب الوطنية والقومية , ''Jabhat al-Ahzab al-Wataniyya wal-Qawmiyya'') or Front Patriotique des Parties Nacionaux (FPPN) in French language, French, w ...
. In June 1976, the Syrian Army, fearing that a Palestinian victory would weaken its own strategic position, received a request from 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 ...
to intervene on their behalf. After strong initial resistance, the LNM/PLO forces began losing ground, and once the
Arab states The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...
eventually approved the Syrian intervention after the
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
and
Riyadh Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
conferences, the common forces accepted a cease-fire. The Syrian Army then took the role of peace-keepers, as part of
Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...
's
Arab Deterrent Force The Arab Deterrent Force (ADF; ar, قوات الردع العربية) was an international peacekeeping force created by the Arab League in the extraordinary Riyadh Summit on 17–18 October 1976, attended only by heads of state from Egypt, Kuw ...
(ADF), between the belligerents. In 1977,
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 ...
became the head of the LNM after the murder of his resigning father, Kamal, in an ambush widely accredited to either pro-Syrian Palestinian militants or Lebanese SSNP agents working for the Syrian intelligence services.Rabinovich, ''The War for Lebanon'' (1989), p. 77.Menargues, ''Les Secrets de la guerre du Liban'' (2004), p. 50. Despite this, Walid aligned himself with Syria, and maintained a good working relationship with Syrian President
Hafez Al-Assad Hafez al-Assad ', , (, 6 October 1930 – 10 June 2000) was a Syrian statesman and military officer who served as President of Syria from taking power in 1971 until his death in 2000. He was also Prime Minister of Syria from 1970 to 1 ...
(who had shared with his father a mutual distrust). In 1978 the
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i
Operation Litani The 1978 South Lebanon conflict (codenamed Operation Litani by Israel) began after Israel invaded southern Lebanon up to the Litani River in March 1978, in response to the Coastal Road massacre near Tel Aviv by Lebanon-based Palestinian mil ...
in southern Lebanon was partly directed against LNM militias, then fighting alongside the PLO after relations improved with Syria. In June 1982, the Movement was virtually dissolved after the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, and replaced by the
Lebanese National Resistance Front 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 ...
– LNRF ( ar, جبهة المقاومة الوطنية اللبنانية, ''Jabhat al-Muqawama al-Wataniyya al-Lubnaniyya''), which commenced resistance operations against the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; he, צְבָא הַהֲגָנָה לְיִשְׂרָאֵל , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the Israel, State of Israel. It consists of three servic ...
(IDF) in September of that same year.


See also

*
Front of Patriotic and National Parties The Front of Patriotic and National Parties – FPNP (Arabic: جبهة الأحزاب الوطنية والقومية , ''Jabhat al-Ahzab al-Wataniyya wal-Qawmiyya'') or Front Patriotique des Parties Nacionaux (FPPN) in French language, French, w ...
*
History of Lebanon The history of Lebanon covers the history of the modern Republic of Lebanon and the earlier emergence of Greater Lebanon under the French Mandate for Syria and the Lebanon, as well as the previous history of the region, covered by the modern stat ...
*
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 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 ...
*
Lebanese National Resistance Front 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 ...
*
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 ...


Notes


References

*Alain Menargues, ''Les Secrets de la guerre du Liban: Du coup d'état de Béchir Gémayel aux massacres des camps palestiniens'', Albin Michel, Paris 2004. (in French) *Denise Ammoun, ''Histoire du Liban contemporain: Tome 2 1943-1990'', Fayard, Paris 2005. (in 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 intern ...
, ''Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92'', Palgrave Macmillan, London 1998. *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) *
Itamar Rabinovich Itamar Rabinovich ( he, איתמר רבינוביץ; born 1942) is the president of the Israel Institute (Washington and Jerusalem). He was Israel's Ambassador to the United States in the 1990s and former chief negotiator with Syria between 1993 ...
, ''The war for Lebanon, 1970–1985'', Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London 1989 (revised edition). , 0-8014-9313-7

* 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. * 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).

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External links


جبهة المقاومة الوطنية اللبنانيةThesis relating many political and military aspects of the Lebanese war, comprising the LNM positions (in French).Collection of LNM posters
Lebanese National Movement,