Decades after civil war Lebanese still pine for peace
Date
4/13/2016 12:21:31 PM
(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) >On Wednesday the Lebanese people marked the anniversary of the start of the civil war that plunged their country into violence and chaos for 15 years.
More than 25 years since the conflict ended however the Lebanese people have yet to enjoy domestic tranquility.
The older generations who remember the war hope to never see such dark days again urging the nation’s youth to put their sectarian and ideological differences aside.
In Beirut many buildings still bear the scars of the gunfire and shelling that once ravaged the city known as the "Paris of the Middle East".
Saeed Shams al-Din a 58-year-old engineer who remembers the war described the conflict as "one of the worst in history".
The Lebanese people had borne the brunt of the civil war Shams al-Din told Anadolu Agency going on to urge the nation’s youth to remain in the country and strive to maintain peace.
Bassam Eitani 51 told Anadolu Agency that the war had been "extremely hard" but added that the nation’s current circumstances were no less difficult.
"The days of war were full of shelling killing and death but -- even under fire -- the people had hope" he said going on to assert that the country’s current economic difficulties were even harder to bear.
The Lebanese civil war lasted from Apr. 13 1975 to Oct. 13 1990. It pitted Muslim groups against Christian ones and involved the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israeli army the latter of which invaded the country in both 1978 and 1982.
The conflict also involved the Syrian army which entered Lebanon in 1976 (where it remained until 2005).
The war left some 150000 people dead 300000 injured and 17000 others missing. More than a million Lebanese fled the country as a result of the conflict which also caused an estimated $100 billion in material damage.
In August of 1989 the Taif Accord was signed in Saudi Arabia which eventually ended the conflict one year later.
By Hamza Tekin
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