Tyous Team of Commandos
| Tyous Team of Commandos | |
|---|---|
| Participant in Lebanese civil war (1975-1990) | |
| Active | Until 1985 |
| Groups | Lebanese Front, Lebanese Forces |
| Leaders | Al-Anid |
| Headquarters | Ashrafieh |
| Strength | 100 fighters |
| Allies | Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Kataeb Regulatory Forces (KRF), Al-Tanzim, Lebanese Forces (LF) |
| Opponents | Lebanese National Movement (LNM), Marada Brigade, Tigers militia, Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Syrian Army, Lebanese Communist Party (LCP), Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) |
The Tyous Team of Commandos – TTC or simply Tyous for short (‘Tyous’ means 'Male Goat' in Arabic, also translated as the “Stubborn Ones”; “Les Têtus”, “Les Obstinés” in French), was a small far-right Christian militia which fought in the 1975-78 phase of the Lebanese Civil War.
The Tyous (written in Arabic as التيوس pronounced Tyoos) was quietly formed at the early 1970s in Beirut by one Al Anid, a Christian Maronite far-right activist who strongly opposed the Cairo Agreement and the presence of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) guerrilla factions in Lebanon. Prior to 1975 Al Anid cultivated close relations with other Christian rightist parties and organizations, which enabled his group to receive funds and military training, namely from the Kataeb Party and the secretive Al-Tanzim.
The original members of the TTC were predominantly Maronites but soon began to accept volunteers from the Assyrian Christian community of Iraqi origin, who had migrated illegally to Lebanon in the 1960s to escape persecution and poverty in their home country. The Assyrians were drawn – and sworn allegiance – to the militias of the Christian-rightist camp by promises of integration and attaining full Lebanese citizenship.
The name ‘Tyous’ was reportedly given to the group by Bashir Gemayel, the commander of the KRF and future supremo of the Lebanese Forces (LF).
The Tyous was organized into a 100 men-strong light infantry group roughly equivalent to an understrength infantry company, initially provided with small-arms purchased on the black market. Additional weapons and equipment (including all-terrain vehicles) were acquired after January 1976 from Lebanese Army stocks and Internal Security Forces (ISF) Police stations, which allowed the group to raise a motor force of some gun-trucks equipped with heavy machine guns (HMGs), recoilless rifles and a few anti-aircraft . They also received covert military assistance from Israel via the Phalange and later the Lebanese Forces.
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Wikipedia