- 09
- Dec.
- 2024
With the fall of Bashar al-Assad, marking the end of 54 years of the brutal dictatorship of the Assad family, driven by a thirst for blood, money and power, let us remember the Lebanese who were murdered for their sovereigntist beliefs and patriotism since 1970 by the Syrian regime. During that year, Hafez al-Assad took power. He never stopped eyeing Lebanon, which he viewed with contempt as an extension of Syria, falsely using his famous slogan, "one people in two countries."
Kamal Joumblatt
On March 16, 1977, the Druze leader and founder of the Progressive Socialist Party (PSP), Kamal Joumblatt, was shot dead at the age of 60 in his car near the village of Baakline, in the Shouf mountains. The main suspects are members of the Baath Party and the Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP).
Salim Lawzi
A well-known Lebanese journalist and editor, a free-spirited writer, and the founder and editor-in-chief of the weekly magazine Al-Hawadeth, Lawzi, 58, was kidnapped on February 25, 1980. Brutally tortured, his body was found on March 4, 1980. His right hand had been burned with acid. Syrian intelligence services are suspected of having ordered the assassination.
Riad Taha
Taha was an editor and the president of the Lebanese Publishers Association for 13 years. He was shot dead at the age of 53 on July 23, 1980, by a machine gun in front of the Continental Hotel in Beirut after being pursued through the city. His attackers fled the scene. The assassination was not investigated. Riad Taha was a critic of the Syrian occupation.
Bashir Gemayel
The elected president of Lebanon, Bashir Gemayel, 34, commander of the Lebanese Forces, the armed wing of the Kataeb Party, was elected president of Lebanon in 1982. He was assassinated while holding a meeting with his staff by a bomb that destroyed the building housing the party’s headquarters. The attack was planned and carried out by the SSNP. The perpetrator, Habib Chartouni, a member of this pro-Syrian party, was released from prison when the Syrian forces entered Lebanon in 1990.
Sheikh Sobhi el-Saleh
The 60-year-old cleric had received numerous threats due to his sovereigntist positions and his support for a unified Lebanon with all its communities. He was assassinated on the morning of October 7, 1986.
Hassan Khaled
The Mufti of the Republic, 68, was assassinated on May 16, 1989, in a car bomb attack while driving through the western part of Beirut. The bomb was planted in his vehicle. Sheikh Hassan Khaled was a moderate Muslim, advocating for coexistence and harmony among Lebanon's diverse communities.
Nazem el-Qadri
A Sunni MP for 38 years, Nazem el-Qadri was assassinated on September 22, 1989. At the time of his assassination, Lebanese MPs were preparing for negotiations in Taif, Saudi Arabia, aimed at reaching an agreement to end the war in Lebanon and set a deadline for the withdrawal of Syrian forces. Qadri had just criticized the Syrian presence. His assassination was a message from Syria to other Lebanese MPs, warning them not to push for a Syrian withdrawal.
René Moawad
President René Moawad, 64, who had been in office for just 17 days, was assassinated in a car bomb attack while heading back from the Independence Day celebrations in West Beirut on November 22, 1989. Moawad had sought to establish a national unity government to end the Lebanese Civil War, which was then in its 14th year.
Dany Chamoun
The son of former president Camille Chamoun, 56-year-old Dany Chamoun was assassinated at his home in Baabda on October 21, 1989, by armed men who disguised themselves as Lebanese Army soldiers. His wife and two sons were also killed. Chamoun was a staunch opponent of the government of President Elias Hraoui, who was backed by Syria.
Rafic Hariri
Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, 60, was assassinated on February 14, 2005, when a ton of explosives placed in a parked truck detonated as his convoy passed by. Hariri had become a fierce critic of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. His assassination triggered the Cedar Revolution, which led to the withdrawal of Syrian troops after 29 years of occupation.
Samir Kassir
A columnist for the daily Al-Nahar and an influential writer, Samir Kassir, 45, was a staunch critic of Syria. He was assassinated on June 2, 2005, in a bomb explosion placed under his seat in his car.
Georges Haoui
Former leader of the Lebanese Communist Party and once a supporter of Palestinian causes, Georges Haoui, 67, was killed on June 21, 2005, by a one-kilogram bomb that exploded under the passenger seat of his car. Haoui had become a fierce critic of Syria and its intelligence services.
Gebran Tueni
A member of Parliament and the publisher of the Lebanese daily newspaper Al-Nahar, Gebran Tueni, 48, was a staunch critic of Syria. He gained international attention in March 2000 when he published an open letter on the front page of his newspaper, addressed to Bashar al-Assad, calling for the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon. Tueni was killed on December 12, 2005, in a car bomb attack in Mkalles.
Pierre Gemayel
Minister of Industry and opponent of Syrian influence in Lebanon, Pierre Gemayel, 34, was shot dead in his car on October 21, 2006. Gemayel was the son of former President Amine Gemayel (whose brother, Bashir, was assassinated in 1982 just days before becoming president) and the grandson of Pierre Gemayel, founder of the Kataeb Party.
Walid Eido
A member of Parliament and of the Future Movement led by Saad Hariri, Walid Eido, 65, was assassinated in a car bomb attack in Raouche on June 13, 2007. Three days earlier, the United Nations Security Council had passed a resolution calling for the creation of an international tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the assassination of Rafic Hariri. Eido was a vocal critic of Syria.
Antoine Ghanem
A Christian MP and member of the anti-Syrian March 14 coalition, 64-year-old Antoine Ghanem was assassinated in a car bomb attack on September 19, 2007. A member of the Kataeb party, Ghanem had fled Lebanon due to fears for his life and had returned for just two days when he was killed.
François el-Hage
François el-Hage, 54, director of operations at the army command and one of the key commanders in the Battle of Nahr el-Bared against the Fateh el-Islam Islamist group, was killed in a car bomb attack on December 12, 2007, in Baabda. His name had been circulating as a candidate for the position of army commander-in-chief.
Wissam Eid
At 32 years old, this officer of the Internal Security Forces was responsible for the technical aspects of investigations into attacks since 2004, including that of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri. His work greatly contributed to the progress of the investigation by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon, which was handling the Hariri case. On January 25, 2008, at 10 AM, he was killed in a car bomb attack in Furn el-Chebbak.
Wissam el-Hassan
The head of the Internal Security Forces Intelligence Branch and an opponent of the Damascus regime, 47-year-old Wissam el-Hassan was killed in a car bomb attack on October 19, 2012, due to his role in the investigation into the assassination of Rafic Hariri, attributed to Hezbollah.
Mohammad Chatah
Appointed Minister of Finance in July 2008 and foreign policy adviser to Prime Minister Saad Hariri from November 2009 to January 2011, 62-year-old Mohammad Chatah was killed in a bombing on December 27 in downtown Beirut. Just moments before his death, Chatah had accused Hezbollah of "pressuring for powers similar to those Syria held in Lebanon for 15 years over security and foreign policy."
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