Black Saturday (Lebanon)
Encyclopedia
Black Saturday was a series of massacres and armed clashes in Beirut
, that occurred in the first stages of the Lebanese Civil War
.
On Saturday December 6, 1975, the bodies of four members of the rightist Kataeb Party
(Phalange), an organization grouping primarily Maronite Christian
s, were found in an abandoned car outside the state-owned power plant in Christian-dominated East Beirut.
The Phalange's militiamen in the city went into a frenzied rage, blaming the killings on the Lebanese National Movement
(LNM), dominated by leftist Muslims and Palestinians. Phalange forces attacked Muslims throughout Christian-dominated East Beirut, indiscriminately firing into crowds. Tens or hundreds of Muslim hostages were snatched off city streets and either killed or later released for ransom
.
Fighters, allegedly led by Joseph Saadeh, whose son was one of the four murdered, began putting up checkpoints on major roads. At these, passing cars and pedestrians were intercepted and ordered to show identification cards. Any Palestinians (who as refugees
were stateless, and had no ID cards) or Muslims (Lebanese ID cards indicated religious affiliation) were killed on the spot.
In an orgy of bloodletting, several hundred people were murdered in a few hours, most of them civilian
. Estimations of the total number of victims range between 200 and 600. Phalangist headquarters
released a communiqué
the next day claiming the revenge was supposed to have been limited to hostage-taking, but had escalated into a massacre because of "hysteria
" and "elements who would not listen to orders of their superiors".
Immediately afterwards, the LNM attacked Phalangist positions in retaliation. Major combat raged in the capital, and much of the surrounding countryside, until January 22, 1976, but was soon to resume again.
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, that occurred in the first stages of the Lebanese Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
The Lebanese Civil War was a multifaceted civil war in Lebanon. The war lasted from 1975 to 1990 and resulted in an estimated 150,000 to 230,000 civilian fatalities. Another one million people were wounded, and today approximately 350,000 people remain displaced. There was also a mass exodus of...
.
On Saturday December 6, 1975, the bodies of four members of the rightist Kataeb Party
Kataeb Party
The Lebanese Phalanges , better known in English as the Phalange , is a traditional right-wing Lebanese political party. Although it is officially secular, it is mainly supported by Maronite Christians. The party played a major role in the Lebanese War...
(Phalange), an organization grouping primarily Maronite Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s, were found in an abandoned car outside the state-owned power plant in Christian-dominated East Beirut.
The Phalange's militiamen in the city went into a frenzied rage, blaming the killings on the Lebanese National Movement
Lebanese National Movement
The Lebanese National Movement or Mouvement National Libanais in French, was a front of parties and organizations active during the early years of the Lebanese Civil War...
(LNM), dominated by leftist Muslims and Palestinians. Phalange forces attacked Muslims throughout Christian-dominated East Beirut, indiscriminately firing into crowds. Tens or hundreds of Muslim hostages were snatched off city streets and either killed or later released for ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
.
Fighters, allegedly led by Joseph Saadeh, whose son was one of the four murdered, began putting up checkpoints on major roads. At these, passing cars and pedestrians were intercepted and ordered to show identification cards. Any Palestinians (who as refugees
Palestinian refugee
Palestinian refugees or Palestine refugees are the people and their descendants, predominantly Palestinian Arabic-speakers, who fled or were expelled from their homes during and after the 1948 Palestine War, within that part of the British Mandate of Palestine, that after that war became the...
were stateless, and had no ID cards) or Muslims (Lebanese ID cards indicated religious affiliation) were killed on the spot.
In an orgy of bloodletting, several hundred people were murdered in a few hours, most of them civilian
Civilian
A civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces or other militia. Civilians are distinct from combatants. They are afforded a degree of legal protection from the effects of war and military occupation...
. Estimations of the total number of victims range between 200 and 600. Phalangist headquarters
Headquarters
Headquarters denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the top of a corporation taking full responsibility managing all business activities...
released a communiqué
Communique
A communiqué is a brief report or statement released by a public agency.Communiqué may also refer to:* Communiqué , a rock band* Communiqué , 1979* Communiqué , 1987...
the next day claiming the revenge was supposed to have been limited to hostage-taking, but had escalated into a massacre because of "hysteria
Hysteria
Hysteria, in its colloquial use, describes unmanageable emotional excesses. People who are "hysterical" often lose self-control due to an overwhelming fear that may be caused by multiple events in one's past that involved some sort of severe conflict; the fear can be centered on a body part, or,...
" and "elements who would not listen to orders of their superiors".
Immediately afterwards, the LNM attacked Phalangist positions in retaliation. Major combat raged in the capital, and much of the surrounding countryside, until January 22, 1976, but was soon to resume again.