Syria's Horrendous Track Record in Lebanon

August 26, 1973: As a prelude to igniting the war Syrian President Hafez Assad announces that Lebanon and Syria are one country and one people but with two governments.
September 10, 1975: El Saaka Syrian forces attack the village of Deir Ashash, in Northern Lebanon, killing three priests and causing its residents to flee.
September 11, 1975: The Saaka forces and forces from the Syrian Baath Party attack the village of Beit Mallat killing seven of its residents and kidnapping 10 others.
September 26, 1975: Egyptian newspaper El Ahram accuses Syria of meddling in Lebanon and attempting to impose the Syrian Baath Party on Lebanon by force.
October 9, 1975: Saaka forces traveling across the Syrian border attack the village of Tal Abbas in Akkar killing 15 people and injuring many others. The local church is set on fire with the hope of igniting religious strife between the Lebanese.
November 2, 1975: A whole Syrian battalion of Syrian Special Forces enter Lebanon through the Bekaa Valley.
January 7, 1976: In a statement published by a Kuwaiti newspaper Syrian Vice President Abdel Halim Khaddam announces that Lebanon is part of Syria and that it will be returned to it adding that this concept should be very clear to everyone.
January 15, 1976: A battalion from the Palestine Liberation Army, the Yarmouck division, which is under Syrian command, enters the Bekaa and has confrontations with Lebanese Army in the area.
January 19, 1976: More forces from the Yarmouck division along with some other forces from the Saaka enter Northern Lebanon and proceed to attack Lebanese police and internal security forces positions; they are helped by local armed Palestinian militias.
January 21, 1976: The Yarmouck and the Saaka forces, under the command of Syria, attack the Christian town of Damour in the Shouf uprooting its residents, killing a large number of people and reducing the town to rubbles. Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt tries in vain to stop the attack and prevent the massacres but all his efforts are useless in the face of the Syrian plan to ignite religious strife among the Lebanese.
March 5, 1976: Saaka forces encircle the towns of Kobeyat and Anduct in Akkar in Northern Lebanon and proceed to bombard the area with heavy artillery and mortar fire. Meanwhile falsified or imaginary statements are being distributed supposedly from the residents of the two towns asking for the Syrian forces to intervene and help them…
April 4, 1976: Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt expresses his astonishment about the fact that Syrian forces are deploying in areas of Lebanon where there is absolutely no legal justification for their presence.
April 5, 1976: Bashir Gemayel, the leader of the Lebanese Forces announces that the different parties in Lebanon were on the verge of reaching an agreement when Syria intervened and disrupted all agreements.
May 31, 1976: Syrian tanks under the command of the Syrian army enter the Akkar area in Northern Lebanon for the first time ever.
June 1, 1976: The Syrian army advances into the Bekaa Valley and starts taking over all strategic and vital positions.
July 20, 1976: Syrian president Hafez Assad gives his famous speech on the stairs of the University of Damascus in which he states that he did not ask anyone's permission to send his forces into Lebanon.
November 11, 1976: The Syrian Saaka Forces attempt to assassinate the leader of the National Bloc Party, Mr. Raymond Edde.
December 15, 1976: Forces from the Syrian army and from the Syrian intelligence services attack the offices of the El Moharrar, Beirut and El Doustour newspapers, kick out their editors and take over their offices and their printing facilities.
December 17, 1976: Syrian forces attack the offices of the El Safir newspaper and occupy the premises.
December 19, 1976: Syrian Forces occupy the offices of the El Nahar and L'Orient-Le Jour newspapers.
December 20, 1976: Syrian defense minister General Nagi Jamil justifies all these attacks against the press by saying that these newspapers are being used for Zionist propaganda.
March 16, 1977: The Syrian Secret services assassinate Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt in the Shouf region a few meters away from a Syrian checkpoint, then proceed to commit revenge killings against the Christians of the Chouf which left 250 civilians dead.
November 5, 1977: The Saaka Syrian forces attack the village of Aishiyeh killing 41 of its residents and displacing most of the others.
February 4, 1978: The Syrian army attempts to occupy the army headquarters at Fiyadiyyeh. Resistance from the Lebanese Army leaves 30 Syrian soldiers dead. Officer Abdallah Hadchity is killed during this operation.
June 14, 1978: The Syrian forces bombard the village of Deir El Ahmar in the Bekaa with heavy artillery.
June 28, 1978: Armed gunmen affiliated with the Syrian intelligence services attack the villages of Ka'a, Ras Baalbeck and Jdeidet El Fakaha, kidnapping a large number of people. Many of them are found dead while a good number of them remain missing.
June 30, 1978: The Syrian army, using ground and air forces, attack regions of Northern Lebanon, and invade Bcharre and the heights of Batroun after fierce battles with the residents and the Lebanese Forces.
September 30, 1978: Fierce battles take place between the Syrian army and the residents of East Beirut when the Syrian forces try to advance into the area. The Syrian forces retaliate with heavy artillery, which leaves hundreds of innocent civilians dead and many more injured.
February 2, 1980: The Syrian special forces attack the village of Kanat. The villagers resist for six days but, after heavy bombardment, with tanks and canons, the Syrian forces are able to take over the village.
February 23, 1980: Syrian agents kill Maya Gemayel, the little daughter of Bashir Gemayel.
February 24, 1980: Lebanese journalist Selim Lowzi is found dead in the forests of Aramoun, near a checkpoint for the Syrian Special Forces. He has been missing for nine days, having been kidnapped on his way to the International airport of Beirut. Lowzi was known for his articles opposing the Syrian regime.
March 13, 1980: Syrian agent Hussein Mostapha Tlass tries to assassinate previous president of the republic Kamil Chamoun.
July 22, 1980: The Syrian intelligence services kill Riad Taha, the head of the union of editors.
August 27, 1980: Syrian agents attempt to assassinate John Gunther Dean, the American Ambassador to Lebanon.
November 10, 1980: Syrian agents detonate two car bombs in Achrafieh in east Beirut killing tens of people and injuring many.
December 23, 1980: Syrian artillery bombard the town of Zahle in the Bekaa on Christmas Eve, killing and injuring many.
February 20, 1981: In an attempt to reignite religious strife in the country, the Syrians attempt to assassinate the Greek Catholic Patriarch, Maximos the fifth Hakim in the town of Bhamdoun a few meters away from a Syrian checkpoint.
April 2, 1981: Syrian artillery stationed in Aramoun suddenly and furiously bombard East Beirut at a time when students were leaving schools to head home. Casualties and injuries are in the Hundreds.
April 3, 1981: The Syrian army and its agents mount a full-scale attack against the town of Zahle in the Bekaa in an attempt to control it. It is reported that thousands of Syrian soldiers participated in the attack and that they were met with resistance from the residents, which lasted about four months.
September 3, 1981: Syrian agents assassinate French Ambassador Louis DeLamare.
December 15, 1981: Iraq accuses the Syrian intelligence services of blowing up the Iraqi embassy building in Beirut, a crime which left 30 people dead and 120 injured.
April 27, 1982: Syrian agents kill Sheikh Ahmad Assaf for his patriotic stands.
May 1, 1982: Syrian agents, to create religious strife between the various factions in Lebanon, kill Father Phillipe Abou Sleiman, a priest in Aley.
May 24, 1982: An explosion in front of the French embassy in Beirut leads to 9 deaths and 26 injuries. The operation is the work of Syrian agent Hussein Tlass.
May 25, 1982: French newspaper "Le Matin" accuses the Syrians of blowing up the French embassy and present a report complete with names and motives.
July 11, 1982: Heavy Syrian artillery shells the Eastern sections of Beirut leaving dozens of people dead and many more injured.
September 14, 1982: Syrian agents assassinate President-elect Bashir Gemayel.
April 19, 1983: Syrian agents blow up the American embassy in Beirut killing and injuring many.
April 20, 1983: The media in Egypt, Jordan, Israel and the United States reveal that the Islamic Jihad organization, that claimed responsibility for the bombing of the American Embassy in Beirut, is nothing but a front for the Syrian intelligence services.
September 2, 1983: Various Palestinian organizations controlled by Syria attack many positions of the Lebanese Army in Souk El Gharb with the intent of occupying the area and reaching the presidential palace in Baabda.
September 9, 1983: The Lebanese government, then headed by Chafic Wazzan, notifies the United States and the governments of Europe that Syrian and Palestinian forces are the major forces participating in the onslaught on the Lebanese mountain with the intent of bringing down the legal government of Lebanon.
September 8, 1983: A spokesman for the Syrian regime states that Syria is ready to enter the war in the mountains of Lebanon if its "allies" asked her to.
September 8, 1983: Alan Romberg, a spokesman for the US State department, announces that Syria bears the bulk of the responsibility for what is going on in Lebanon and that it is the main source of weapons used by the various militias that it controls, in addition to the role of its 40 thousand soldiers who are in Lebanon.
September 9, 1983: A French source notes that Damascus is working hard to take advantage of the talks between the various Lebanese factions, confirming that the French embassy in Beirut was bombarded from positions under Syrian control.
December 27, 1985: Syria tries to impose what was called the tripartite agreement on the Lebanese; but is met with an armed rebellion in the Eastern section of Beirut which brought down the agreement-conspiracy which aimed to make the Syrian hegemony over Lebanon constitutional. This was later achieved with the Taief Accords.
September 18, 1986: French military Attaché Christian Gauthier is shot in front of the French embassy with a revolver equipped with a silencer by Hussein Mostapha Tlass who now resides in Syria.
October 7, 1986: Syrian agents murder the head of the Islamic Shiite Higher Council, Sheikh Soubhi Saleh, who is shot in broad daylight.
November 22, 1986: The Syrian army kidnaps hundreds of civilians from the town of Tripoli in Northern Lebanon in retaliation for attacks against Syrian military and intelligence positions. The bodies of many who were kidnapped were found in the streets of Tripoli and its suburbs.
November 30, 1986: The Syrian Special forces liquidate 34 residents of Tripoli on charges of "opposition to the Syrians."
August 2, 1987: Syrian agents assassinate Dr. Mohammad Choucair, an advisor to President Amine Gemayel. He is killed inside his home in West Beirut.
March 14, 1989: Heavy Syrian artillery, specifically the 52nd brigade controlled by the Syrian special Forces, equipped with 240 and 160 millimeters canons, positioned in the hills of Aramoun, pounds both the East and the West side of Beirut, especially targeting the Unesco area. Tens of Lebanese are killed in the onslaught. Following these attacks, and in complete coordination with Israel, the Syrian forces using various heavy weapons surround the areas controlled by the constitutional regime.
May 9, 1989: The Syrian Intelligence Services assassinate the Sunni Mufti of the republic, Sheikh Hassan Khaled after he notified the Kuwaiti ambassador that the Syrian artillery is the one responsible for shelling both the Christian and the Moslem sides of the city, and that the Syrians, from their positions in Aramoun, are responsible for the massacres at Unesco.
November 22, 1989: The Syrians assassinate president-elect Rene Moawad due to disputes he had with the Syrian leaders and his refusal to obey their orders.
August 1, 1990: The Syrian forces surround the area controlled by the legitimate Lebanese government to bring down the transitional government.
November 12, 1990: Syrian agent Francois Halal makes an attempt to assassinate Prime Minister General Michel Aoun at the presidential palace. The head of the Syrian Baath party proclaims that he was responsible for the failed attempt.
October 13, 1990: The Syrian Forces invade the Eastern areas which support the Lebanese Army under heavy air strikes (the only instance where Syria was able to fly its airforce over Lebanese space without drawing the Israelis), artillery shelling and rocket launching. Both the people and the army attempt to resist this onslaught but the Syrians are able to take over the area committing massacres in Dahr El Wahsh, Souk El Gharb, Bsous, Hadeth and Beit Mery, massacres that left hundreds of people dead and many more injured. Large numbers of soldiers and officers from the Lebanese Army are executed with a shot in the back of the head, or are captured and taken to Syrian jails where they are still being held to this day. An estimated 700 people were killed by the Syrian invaders that day. For three days the Syrians proceed to steal what they could find inside the defense ministry, such as archives, equipment, computers, maps, and strategic historic information, which they transported to Syria. The Syrian invasion is "legitimized" by the collaboration of current Lebanese President Emile Lahoud, a privileged and largely ineffectual Navy officer serving as the "legitimate" front for the Syrians. In his bid as a traitor and collaborator, General Lahoud became the Général Pétain of Lebanon and was rewarded by the Syrians with the "Presidency" of Lebanon. As the ultimate puppet, Lahoud will never challenge his puppeteers in Damascus, lest he loses his career if not his life.
October 14, 1990- Present: Syria totally dominates Lebanon; economically, politically, militarily and diplomatically.