Zgharta Liberation Army
| Marada Brigade/Zgharta Liberation Army جيش تحرير زغرتا | |
|---|---|
| Leaders | |
| Battles and wars | Lebanese Civil War |
The Zgharta Liberation Army – ZLA (
Origins
The Al-Marada's military wing was secretly formed in 1967 and at the outbreak of the war in April 1975, they numbered just 700–800 men armed with obsolete firearms acquired on the black market.[2] They first came to light on 17 August 1970 at Beirut, when Tony Frangieh forced his way into the Parliament House leading a group of armed militiamen in order to secure his father's election to the Presidency – an illegal move that the Lebanese official authorities proved powerless to prevent.
Political beliefs
Often described as a Mafia-style gangster organization rather than a true political party, the Al-Marada/ZLA seems to have never devised a coherent program or adhered to a particular ideology. Although conservative in outlook, sharing with the other rightist Christian parties similar viewpoints regarding the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) military presence in Lebanon and the preservation of the pre-war Christian-dominated political status quo, they were generally regarded as a corps of feudal retainers infamous for their brutality and corruption.[3]
Military structure and organization
Structured along semi-conventional lines into mechanized infantry, 'commando', signals, medical and military police branches, the ZLA had a distinct regional orientation,
Weapons and equipment
Prior to the war, the ZLA militia initially received covert support from the Lebanese Army, who besides providing training, weapons and ammunition, also lent to the ZLA sophisticated mobile communications equipment.[9] Additional weapons, vehicles, and other non-lethal equipments were initially procured on the international black market or drawn from Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) reserves and Internal Security Forces (ISF) police stations.[10] After June 1978, they were financed and armed mainly by Syria.
Infantry weapons
Al-Marada/ZLA militiamen were provided with a variety of small-arms, including
Squad weapons consisted of
Portable anti-tank weapons and guided missile systems were also widely employed, comprising
Vehicles
The Al-Marada fielded since January 1976 a mechanized corps made of ex-
Artillery
Yugoslav
They also maintained a small 'naval' branch equipped with some
List of Marada military commanders
- Tony Frangieh (1967–1978)
- Robert Frangieh (1978–1982)
- Suleiman Frangieh Jr.(1982–1990)
Administrative organization and illegal activities
The Frangieh clan established in 1978 their own fief in the
Initially funded by Suleiman Frangieh's own personal fortune, the Al-Marada/ZLA also resorted to racketeering, with additional revenues being generated by the illegal ports of Chekka – Lebanon's industrial hub at the time – and Selaata, both located in the Batroun District, which were used for contraband of arms, agricultural goods and industrial products, drug-trafficking, and barratry. They also levied tolls on the transit trade of agricultural products and other goods at a number of in-land checkpoints, such as Madfoun in the Batroun District.[22]
The ZLA in the Lebanese Civil War
Early stages and expansion 1975–78
The small ZLA entered the civil war only in July 1975, in response to a series of attacks in the
Despite having joined in January 1976 the Lebanese Front alliance that gathered the main rightist Christian parties and their militias, the Frangiehs close ties to Syria (Suleiman was a personal friend of Syrian President Hafez al-Assad), along with their bitter political squabbling with the Gemayel clan – leaders of the Kataeb Party or 'Phalange' – and their disagreements with the other Christian leaders over their tactical alliance with Israel, prompted them to break from the Lebanese Front in 1977, an act that would ultimately led to the tragic events of the following year.[28]
The later years 1979–1990
After
In the months immediately after the Ehden killings, the Frangiehs were not only able to prevent the ZLA of being totally destroyed or absorbed into the Lebanese Forces, but also succeeded in ruthlessly driving the latter out of the Koura District by the end of the 1970s, kidnapping or slaughtering nearly 100 Phalange' members and forcing the remainder 25,000 either to flee the region or go underground.[34][35] It has also been suspected that the Al-Marada/ZLA were behind the assassinations of
Pushed to the sidelines for the rest of the civil war, the Al-Marada/ZLA was able to remain active thanks to Syrian support and although its numbers dwindled to 1,600 fighters by the mid-1980s, the Al-Marada managed to hold on to the 'Northern Canton'. On July 11, 1984, the Al-Marada/ZLA clashed with the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) militia forces for the control of the Christian villages of Kousba, Kfaraakka, Bsarma, Dahr-al-Ain and several others in the Koura District, with the ZLA eventually managing to drive out the SSNP and assert their dominance over the entire region until the end of the war. It was also alleged that they received the tacit backing from a contingent of unspecified number from the 1,700 men-strong Lebanese Army's Seventh Brigade stationed at Byblos, being regarded as loyal to former president Suleiman Frangieh.[37]
Controversy
Amid tensions in the North between the Kataeb and Marada parties when the former tried to expand their power in the region,[38] ZLA/Marada militiamen assassinated Joud el Bayeh, a Kataeb leader in Zgharta, which ignited the Ehden massacre.[39] To seek revenge for the Ehden massacre, on 28 June 1978, ZLA militiamen captured and killed 26 Kataeb Regulatory Forces members in the villages of Qaa and Ras Baalbek.
They also disguised themselves as Kataeb militiamen in a false flag operation and massacred 13 Kataeb members in Chmout on 22 April 1979, being tipped off about the gathering of the victims by the Syrians.[40]
The ZLA/Marada militia destroyed the residence of Greek Orthodox MP Fouad Ghosn at the town of Kousba, Koura district in retaliation after he voted for Bachir Gemayel during the 1982 Lebanese presidential election.[41]
On 2 May 1987, a ZLA unit called Marada 3/400 set up an ambush meant to kill Bahaa Douaihy and Roumanos Douaihy amid the long-running Frangieh and Douaihy clans feud.[42]
Disbandment
Upon the end of the war in October 1990, Al-Marada/ZLA militia forces operating in Beirut and the 'Northern Canton' were ordered by the Lebanese Government on March 28, 1991 to disband and surrender their heavy weaponry by April 30 as stipulated by the
See also
- Army of Free Lebanon
- Ehden massacre
- Kataeb Regulatory Forces
- Lebanese Civil War
- Lebanese Forces
- Lebanese National Salvation Front
- List of weapons of the Lebanese Civil War
- Marada Movement
- Najjadeh Party
- Zahliote Group
- 7th Infantry Brigade (Lebanon)
References
- ^ Katz, Russel, and Volstad, Armies in Lebanon 1982–84 (1985), p. 8.
- ^ Makdisi and Sadaka, The Lebanese Civil War, 1975–1990 (2003), p. 44, Table 1: War Period Militias.
- ^ Katz, Russel, and Volstad, Armies in Lebanon 1982–84 (1985), p. 7.
- ^ Rabinovich, The war for Lebanon (1989), pp. 66–68.
- ^ Rabinovich, The war for Lebanon (1989), pp. 66–68.
- ^ Collelo, Lebanon: a country study (1989), p. 240.
- ^ Tony Badran, Lebanon's Militia Wars in Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis (2009), p. 40.
- ^ Library of Congress: APPENDIX B - Lebanon
- ^ Jureidini, McLaurin, and Price, Military operations in selected Lebanese built-up areas (1979), pp. 42–45.
- ^ Tony Badran, Lebanon's Militia Wars in Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis (2009), pp. 40–41.
- ^ Shotgun News.
- ^ Huon, Un Siècle d'Armement Mondial: Armes à feu d'infanterie de petit calibre, tome 4 (1981), page unknown.
- ^ Thompson, The G3 Battle Rifle (2019), p. 29.
- ^ McNab, The SVD Dragunov Rifle (2023), p. 50.
- ^ Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2003), p. 25.
- ^ Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2003), p. 25.
- ^ Neville, Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to modern Special Forces (2018), p. 9.
- ^ Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2003), p. 25.
- ^ Sex & Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese Civil War, From 1975 to 1991 and Beyond (2021), p. 213.
- ^ Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon (2003), p. 25.
- ^ Traboulsi, Identités et solidarités croisées dans les conflits du Liban contemporain; Chapitre 12: L'économie politique des milices: le phénomène mafieux (2007), parte III.
- ^ Traboulsi, Identités et solidarités croisées dans les conflits du Liban contemporain; Chapitre 12: L'économie politique des milices: le phénomène mafieux (2007), parte III.
- ^ Weinberger, Syrian Intervention in Lebanon: The 1975–76 Civil War (1986), pp. 157–158.
- ^ Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975-1985) (2012), p. 20.
- ^ Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975-1985) (2012), p. 21.
- ^ O'Ballance, Civil War in Lebanon (1998), pp. 46-47.
- ^ Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975–1985) (2012), p. 30.
- ^ Tony Badran, Lebanon's Militia Wars in Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis (2009), p. 41.
- ^ Collelo, Lebanon: a country study (1989), p. 240.
- ^ Katz, Russel, and Volstad, Armies in Lebanon 1982–84 (1985), p. 8.
- ^ Gordon, The Gemayels (1988), p. 55.
- ^ O'Ballance, Civil War in Lebanon (1998), p. 79.
- ^ Tony Badran, Lebanon's Militia Wars in Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis (2009), p. 41.
- ^ Mardelli, Middle East Perspectives: From Lebanon (2012), p. 390.
- ^ "MP Keyrouz slams OTV's program on Ehden massacre". Now Lebanon. 16 June 2008. Archived from the original on 24 June 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
- ^ Katz, Russel, and Volstad, Armies in Lebanon 1982–84 (1985), p. 8.
- ^ Collelo, Lebanon: a country study (1989), pp. 223–224.
- ^ Rabinovich, The War for Lebanon (1989), p. 98.
- ^ Azzam, Liban, L'instruction d'un crime – 30 ans de guerre (2005), p. 292.
- ^ Jabbour, "Burden of Trust" (2020)
- ^ "من حكايا لبنان السياسية 2/2 بشير الجميل.. رئيساً منتخباً لم يتسلّم سلطاته الدستورية". IMLebanon. 2019-01-04. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
- ^ "من جرائم جماعة المردة بإمرة سليمان "الزغير" – الجزء الأول: اغتيال الشبّان بهاء سركيس الدويهي ورومانس الدويهي ووهيب طنوس في أرده في 2 أيار 1987". Lebanese Forces Official Website. 2010-06-14. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
- ^ Barak, The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society (2009), p. 173.
Bibliography
- Bassil A. Mardelli, Middle East Perspectives: From Lebanon (1968–1988), iUniverse, 2012. ISBN 978-1-4759-0672-1 – [1]
- Barry Rubin (editor), Lebanon: Liberation, Conflict, and Crisis, Middle East in Focus, Palgrave Macmillan, London 2009. ISBN 978-1-349-37326-0 – [2]
- Claire Hoy and Victor Ostrovsky, By Way of Deception: The Making and Unmaking of a Mossad Officer, St. Martin's Press, New York 1990. ISBN 0-9717595-0-2
- Chris McNab, The SVD Dragunov Rifle, Weapon series 87, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2023. ISBN 9781472855961
- Denise Ammoun, Histoire du Liban contemporain: Tome 2 1943–1990, Éditions Fayard, Paris 2005.
- ISBN 0-333-72975-7
- Farid El-Kazen, The Breakdown of the State in Lebanon 1967–1976, I.B. Tauris, London 2000. ISBN 0-674-08105-6 – [4]
- 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) – [5]
- ISBN 978-0-8014-9313-3 – [6]
- Leigh Neville, Technicals: Non-Standard Tactical Vehicles from the Great Toyota War to modern Special Forces, New Vanguard series 257, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2018. ISBN 978-1472822512
- Matthew S. Gordon, The Gemayels (World Leaders Past & Present), Chelsea House Publishers, 1988. ISBN 1-55546-834-9
- Naomi Joy Weinberger, Syrian Intervention in Lebanon: The 1975–76 Civil War, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1986. ISBN 978-0195040104
- Oren Barak, The Lebanese Army – A National institution in a divided society, State University of New York Press, Albany 2009. ISBN 978-0-7914-9345-8 – [7]
- Paul Jureidini, R. D. McLaurin, and James Price, Military operations in selected Lebanese built-up areas, 1975–1978, Aberdeen, MD: U.S. Army Human Engineering Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Technical Memorandum 11-79, June 1979.
- Rex Brynen, Sanctuary and Survival: the PLO in Lebanon, Boulder: Westview Press, Oxford 1990. ISBN 0861871235 – [8]
- ISBN 0-19-280130-9 – [9]
- Roger J. Azzam, Liban, L'instruction d'un crime – 30 ans de guerre, Cheminements, Paris 2005. ISBN 978-2-84478-368-4 (in French)
- Leroy Thompson, The G3 Battle Rifle, Weapon series 68, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2019. ISBN 978-1472828620
- Jean Huon, Un Siècle d'Armement Mondial: Armes à feu d'infanterie de petit calibre, tome 4, Crépin-Leblond éditions, Chaumont 1981. ASIN B009GJSUTE (in French)
- Joseph Hokayem, L'armée libanaise pendant la guerre: un instrument du pouvoir du président de la République (1975–1985), Lulu.com, Beyrouth 2012.
- Samir Makdisi and Richard Sadaka, "The Lebanese Civil War, 1975–1990", American University of Beirut, Institute of Financial Economics, Lecture and Working Paper Series (2003 No.3), pp. 1–53. – [11] Archived 2017-08-10 at the Wayback Machine
- Samer Kassis, 30 Years of Military Vehicles in Lebanon, Beirut: Elite Group, 2003. ISBN 9953-0-0705-5
- Samuel M. Katz, Lee E. Russel, and Ron Volstad, Armies in Lebanon 1982–84, Men-at-Arms series 165, Osprey Publishing Ltd, London 1985. ISBN 978-0-85045-602-8
- 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). – [12]
- Zach Sex & Bassel Abi-Chahine, Modern Conflicts 2 – The Lebanese civil war from 1975–1991 and Beyond, Modern Conflicts Profile Guide Volume II, AK Interactive, 2021. EAN 8435568306073
Further reading
- Fawwaz Traboulsi, A History of Modern Lebanon: Second Edition, Pluto Press, London 2012. ISBN 978-0745332741
- Jean Sarkis, Histoire de la guerre du Liban, Presses Universitaires de France – PUF, Paris 1993. ISBN 978-2-13-045801-2 (in French)
- Jonathan Randall, The Tragedy of Lebanon: Christian Warlords, Israeli Adventurers, and American Bunglers, Just World Books, Charlottesville, Virginia 2012. ISBN 978-1-935982-16-6
- Marius Deeb, The Lebanese Civil War, Praeger Publishers Inc., New York 1980. ISBN 978-0030397011
- Richard Labévière, La Tuerie d'Ehden ou la malédiction des Arabes chrétiens, Éditions Fayard, Paris 2009. ISBN 978-2213643656, (in French)
- Samir Kassir, La Guerre du Liban: De la dissension nationale au conflit régional, Éditions Karthala/CERMOC, Paris 1994. ISBN 978-2865374991 (in French)
- William W. Harris, Faces of Lebanon: Sects, Wars, and Global Extensions, Princeton Series on the Middle East, Markus Wiener Publishers, Princeton 1997. ISBN 978-1558761155