Syrian occupation of Lebanon

The Syrian occupation of Lebanon (Arabic: الاحتلال السوري للبنان‎‎) –1976-2005) began in 1976 as a result of the Syrian Ba'th Regime's bid to control Lebanon, and ended in 26 April 2005 as a result of the Cedar Revolution, after the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister, Rafic Hariri.

In January 1976, a Syrian proposal to restore the limits to the Palestinian guerrilla presence in Lebanon, which had been in place prior to the outbreak of the civil war, was welcomed by few Maronites, but rejected by the Palestinian guerrillas and their Lebanese Druze-led and leftist allies. In June 1976, to deal with the opposition posed by this latter group (which was normally allied with Syria), the Syrian regime dispatched Palestinian units under its control into Lebanon, and soon after sent in its own troops as well. Syria claims these interventions came in response to appeals from Christian villagers under attack by Leftists in Lebanon.

By October 1976, Syria had caused significant damage to the strength of the Leftists and their Palestinian allies, but at a meeting of the Arab League, it was forced to accept a ceasefire. The League ministers decided to expand an existing small Arab peacekeeping force in Lebanon, but it grew to be a large Arab Deterrent Force consisting almost entirely of Syrian troops. The Syrian military intervention was thus legitimized and received subsidies from the Arab League for its activities.

In 1989, at the final accords of the civil war, two rival administrations were formed in Lebanon: a military one under Michel Aoun in East Beirut and a civilian one under Selim el-Hoss based in West Beirut; the latter gained the support of the Syrians. Aoun opposed the Syrian presence in Lebanon, citing the 1982 UN Security Council Resolution 520. In the resulting "War of Liberation", which erupted in March 1989, Aoun's forces were defeated and he himself exiled from Lebanon. In 1991, a Treaty of "Brotherhood, Cooperation, and Coordination", signed between Lebanon and Syria, legitimized the Syrian military presence in Lebanon. It stipulated that Lebanon would not be made a threat to Syria's security and that Syria was responsible for protecting Lebanon from external threats. In September that same year a Defense and Security Pact was enacted between the two countries.

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