Sparked by years of growing tension between different religious, political, and socioeconomic groups, the Lebanese Civil War exploded in 1975 — and endured for 15 turbulent years.
An early 20th-century postcard shows Beirut, Lebanon, before the Lebanese Civil War. Culture Club/Bridgeman via Getty Images Children play on the roof of a collapsed house in Beirut, Lebanon. 1982. Alain Nogues/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images Armed men in Beirut stand in front of a picture of Ruhollah Khomeini, the Supreme Leader of Iran. 1984.Jacques Langevin/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images A Palestinian boy who lost both his legs during the Lebanese Civil War. 1989. Tom Stoddart/Getty Images A Christian Phalange militia member takes aim from a window in Beirut. Most agree that the Lebanese Civil War started in 1975, after Phalangists attacked a bus in Beirut and killed its Palestinian passengers, allegedly in retaliation for an attack on a church.Alain Dejean/Sygma via Getty Images Recruits with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The PFLP fought with the Syrians, and were known for their intensive training techniques. Claude Salhani/Sygma via Getty Images A conflict between Christian Phalangists and Muslims in Beirut. 1975.Claude Salhani/Sygma via Getty Images A Palestinian woman pleads with Christian militia members in Beirut. January 1976. Francoise De Mulder/Roger Viollet via Getty Images A Sunni Mourabitoun soldier holding her gun in Beirut, Lebanon. 1984.Jacques Langevin/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images A group of young fighters in T-shirts pose for the camera in 1976.Claude Salhani/Sygma via Getty Images A man holding a gun pauses to smoke a cigarette during the Lebanese Civil War. Circa 1978.Reddit Another angle of the fighters. Twitter Two heavily armed men walk past destroyed cars in West Beirut. 1987.Maher Attar/Sygma via Getty Images A Shi'ite militiaman holds a human spine taken from a mass grave. May 1985. PHILIPPE BOUCHON/AFP via Getty Images A Muslim militia in West Beirut in 1976. Even in the early years of the conflict, the destruction of the Lebanese Civil War is clearly visible. Philippe Buffon/Sygma via Getty Images Palestinian combatants huddle behind sandbags. November 1975.Claude Salhani/Sygma via Getty Images Palestinian fighters play chess in Damour during a lull in the fighting, following a bombing campaign by Israel. Christine Spengler/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images Palestinian refugees at the Bourj el-Barajneh camp in Beirut. 1989.Tom Stoddart Archive/Getty Images Lebanese people take a break from the conflict to enjoy the beach, but the destroyed building behind them is a perennial reminder of the ongoing conflict. 1987.Maher Attar/Sygma via Getty Images Recruits with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) during their training.Claude Salhani/Sygma via Getty Images One of the PFLP fighters takes aim. Claude Salhani/Sygma via Getty Images A young, female PFLP fighter holds her gun alongside the ruins of a building. Christine Spengler/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) fighters — from a religious sect called the Druze — arrest a Shi'ite Amal militiaman.A wide variety of factions like these fought in the Lebanese Civil War, which involved many different social and religious groups.
Maher Attar/Sygma via Getty Images Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) female fighters. Christine Spengler/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images Sunni Mourabitoun soldiers in Beirut, Lebanon, in 1984. Jacques Langevin/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images A Syrian soldier keeps an eye on the street from beneath his shelter. Syria was one of several countries drawn into the Lebanese Civil War. Maher Attar/Sygma via Getty Images Two American Marines pose for the camera at an observation post in Beirut. 1983.U.S. soldiers entered Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War as part of a multinational force peacekeeping intervention, which failed.
Francoise De Mulder/Roger Viollet via Getty Images American forces were the target of several attacks during the Lebanese Civil War, including a devastating terrorist bombing on October 23, 1983. Then, a suicide bomber drove a truck packed with explosives into the U.S. Marine barracks, killing 241 American soldiers.Months later, in February 1984, President Ronald Reagan announced that U.S. forces would withdraw from the peacekeeping mission.
Bettmann/Getty Images The French were also part of the multinational force peacekeeping intervention, and also withdrew in early 1984 after terrorist attacks.Here, a woman walks along the road as French tanks withdrawing from the country rumble past.
Jacques Langevin/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images A woman and child make their way through a destroyed building in Beirut. 1982.Alain Nogues/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images A woman holds a child in a destroyed building. A mosque is visible in the background.Maher Attar/Sygma via Getty Images A young boy and his injured father stand in what remains of their apartment in Beirut. 1982.Alain Nogues/Sygma/Sygma via Getty Images A young soldier with an assault rifle during the Lebanese Civil War. 1989.Tom Stoddart/Getty Images
33 Photos That Reveal The Utter Devastation Of The Lebanese Civil War View GalleryFor years, Beirut, Lebanon, was known as the "Paris of the Middle East." But the Lebanese Civil War, which broke out in 1975 and lasted for 15 agonizing years, would reduce much of the magnificent city to rubble.
Born out of complicated divisions in Lebanese society, from religion to politics to wealth, the war raged within Lebanon's borders but drew in combatants from around the world. Syrians, Israelis, Palestinians, Americans, and others all entered the country at one point or another during the conflict.
In the end, the Lebanese Civil War resulted in an estimated 120,000 fatalities as well as a mass exodus from the country. And though the conflict ended in 1990, the ramifications of the war are felt in the region to this day.
Above, look through 33 unsettling photos of the Lebanese Civil War that throw this bloody conflict into sharp relief. And below, learn how this complicated war started, endured, and came to a murky end.
How The Lebanese Civil War Began
As the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP) notes, the causes of the Lebanese Civil War can appear seemingly "incomprehensible." But the roots of the conflict basically come down to the country's recent history, dynamics in the region, and conflicts among different Lebanese groups.
In the midst of World War II, Lebanon became an independent state following decades of French control. (Lebanon had previously been part of the Ottoman Empire until its dissolution following World War I).
And as the BBC explains, the National Covenant of 1943 set up the new state by creating a power-sharing system between Christians and Muslims. Based on a decade-old census, it gave Christians a majority in the parliament as well as the presidency. Meanwhile, the prime minister would be a Sunni Muslim, and the Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies a Shia Muslim.
Keystone-France/Gamma-Keystone via Getty ImagesA view of Beirut, Lebanon, in the early 20th century. The city was once known as the "Paris of the Middle East."
But the dynamics in Lebanon significantly changed in the subsequent decades. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians poured into Lebanon following the Israeli takeover of Palestinian land during the Six-Day War in 1967. The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) set up headquarters in Beirut and quickly became a target of Israeli forces.
Meanwhile, tensions between different social groups in Lebanon were escalating. As MERIP reports, most Christians in the country were wealthy, whereas most Muslims were poor. What's more, many had different viewpoints on whether or not Lebanon should be a part of the Arab world, the Muslim world, aligned with the Soviet Union, or aligned with the West.
It was under these circumstances that the Lebanese Civil War began in 1975.
15 Years Of Conflict
Most say the Lebanese Civil War started on April 13, 1975. Then, a Christian militia known as the Phalangists attacked a bus in the Ayn-al-Rummanah district of Beirut. Claiming to be acting in retribution for an attack on a church, they killed 27 passengers on board, most of whom were Palestinian.
As a result, the Lebanese capital quickly devolved into violence. A "green line" divided the city between the Christian factions in the eastern part of Beirut and the Muslim factions in the western part. And even though the conflict was, on the surface, a civil one, it swiftly drew in outside actors.
KHALIL DEHAINI/AFP via Getty ImagesA woman cries in shock after a car bomb explodes in West Beirut. August 1986.
Syrians, who had initially supported the PLO, entered the country in 1976 to defend the Christian factions. (They would later change sides again when Christian Lebanese groups sided with Israel). Two years later, Israeli forces launched an invasion of Lebanon following a Palestinian attack.
The next several years saw bombings, assassinations, and failed attempts to restore peace. American and European peacekeepers arrived on the scene in 1982, but U.S. troops withdrew two years later after a number of devastating suicide attacks.
Then, in 1988, two factions in Lebanon tried to seize power. Though a president was soon elected under the Arab League peace plan — Rene Mouwad — he was assassinated in 1989.
Despite the chaos, the Lebanese Civil War finally came to an end in 1990 with a peace agreement. But the instability in Lebanon never really calmed.
The Violent Postwar Years
Though the Lebanese Civil War technically lasted from 1975 until 1990, ramifications from the conflict persisted across the region for decades afterward. Syrian, Israeli, and Lebanese factions continued to battle in different ways, from suicide attacks to assassinations.
What's more, the civil war irrevocably changed Lebanon. Not only had the conflict reduced much of the "Paris of the Middle East" to rubble, but it had left violent scars across the nation's psyche. It resulted in some 120,000 fatalities, and an estimated 1 million people fled from the violence.
And there's a connection between the Lebanese Civil War and one of the country's most recent tragedies. In 2020, 552 tons of neglected ammonium nitrate exploded in Beirut's port. According to The New York Times, the disaster killed nearly 200 people and injured 6,000.
As many have noted, the instability that followed 15 years of civil strife perfectly set the scene for such an event, as various factions in Lebanon continued to battle for political influence, including at places like the port.
Look through the gallery above to see 33 heartbreaking photos of the Lebanese Civil War in striking detail, from the people who fought in the streets to the hollowed-out buildings that the war left behind.
After reading about the Lebanese Civil War, look through photos of the United States' own Civil War, which endured from 1861 until 1865. Or, look through shocking images from the Mexican Drug War.
ncG1vNJzZmiZnKHBqa3TrKCnrJWnsrTAyKeeZ5ufonytscGapZ6rlWKwqsLIpWSwmaI%3D