| Chouf massacres | |
|---|---|
| Part of theLebanese Civil War | |
| Location | Chouf,Lebanon |
| Date | March 16 – March 30, 1977 |
| Target | Maronites |
| Deaths | 135+ |
| Perpetrators |  People's Liberation ArmyDruze gunmen |
Mainly between March 16, 1977 and March 30, 1977 (with other attacks occurring in mid-August) a series of massacres on Christian civilians took place in theChouf region during theLebanese Civil War.[1] The massacres were mostly committed by Druze gunmen of thePeople's Liberation Army after the assassination of Druze leaderKamal Jumblatt. Many victims were mutilated and women were reportedly sexually abused.
Long-standing enemies since the 1860s, theDruze have always been at odds with theMaronites, and acts of barbarism on both sides have bedevilled their ability to co-exist for centuries past. On 16 March 1977, the PSP leaderKamal Jumblatt was ambushed and killed in his car nearBaakline in the Chouf by unidentified gunmen (allegedly, fighters from the pro-Syrian faction of theSyrian Social Nationalist Party, acting in collusion with the Syrian military commander of theMount Lebanon region, ColonelIbrahim Huweija);[2][3][4][5][6] believing that the perpetrators were members of the predominately ChristianPhalangistKataeb Regulatory Forces (KRF) orTigers Militias, PLF militiamen extracted swift retribution on the local Maronite population living in the intermixed towns and villages aroundBaakline. Despite the hasty dispatch on 17 March of 4,000Syrian Army troops from theArab Deterrent Force (ADF) to keep the peace in the Chouf, it is estimated that about 177–250 Maronite villagers were killed in reprisal actions at the towns ofMoukhtara andBarouk, and at the villages ofMazraat el-Chouf,Maaser el-Chouf,Botmeh,Kfar Nabrakh,Machghara andBrih (St George's Church attack).[7][5][8][9][10]
On March 17, Druze militiamen committed killing sprees inMazraat el-Chouf killing 52 people in the village.[11][12]
In Maaser el-Chouf, 9 people were killed during a funeral and 3 others who were fleeing along with 9 people from a neighboring village calledMachghara. As a result 25,000 Christians fled the area, mostly moving to East Beirut.[12]
On August 21,Druzeleftist gunmenattacked St George's Church during prayers on Sunday with automatic gunfire inside and around the church killing 13 people.[13] The Christian population fled the village. However, current construction projects have taken place to repair abandoned Christian houses with the aim of repopulating the Christian households ofBrih.[14]
Other killings took place in Barouk (28 killed),Botmeh (9 killed),Kfarnabrakh (6 killed), Fraydis (6 killed), as well as inBaadaran, Shurit, andAin-Zhalta. Many victims were reported to have been mutilated and women sexually abused.[1]
Between 1975 and 1977, after numerous successive attacks terrorizing the population, around 260,000 Christians (60% of the Christian population in the Chouf) fled their villages mostly moving to Beirut and its surrounding suburbs.[15]