Dahieh الضاحية الجنوبية | |
|---|---|
  Dahieh Location in Lebanon | |
| Coordinates:33°51′N35°31′E / 33.85°N 35.51°E /33.85; 35.51 | |
| Country | Lebanon |
| Governorate | Mount Lebanon |
| District | Baabda |
| Area | |
• Total | 1,563 ha (3,862 acres) |
| Elevation | 1,250 m (4,100 ft) |
Dahieh (Arabic:الضاحية الجنوبية,lit. 'the southern suburb', French:Banlieue Sud de Beyrouth, Dâhiye de Beyrouth) is a predominantlyShia Muslim suburb in the south ofBeirut, in theBaabda District ofLebanon. It has a minority ofSunni Muslims,Christians, and aPalestinian refugee camp with 20,000 inhabitants. It is a residential and commercial area with malls, stores andsouks,[1] and comprises several towns and municipalities,[2] includingGhobeiry,Haret Hreik,Bourj el-Barajneh,Ouzai, andHay El-Saloum. It is north ofRafic Hariri International Airport, and the M51 freeway that links Beirut to the airport passes through it.
Dahieh is the Beirut stronghold of Lebanese political party andparamilitary groupHezbollah, and it had largeauditoria inHaret Hreik,Hadath andBourj el-Barajneh, where Hezbollah followers gathered on special occasions.[3] The area was severely bombed by Israel in the2006 Lebanon War and in theIsrael–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present).Hassan Nasrallah, theSecretary-General of Hezbollah, waskilled in an Israeli airstrike in 2024.[4]
Dahieh is home to one of the most densely populated communities in Lebanon. In 1986 the number of Shia living in Dahieh was estimated to be 800,000.[5]
In the 14th century, there was a sizeableShia Muslim community atBourj Beirut. The community was first mentioned in a decree that theMamluk viceroy issued against the Shiites of Beirut and the surrounding areas in 1363, demanding that they stop practicingShia rituals.[6] In Ottomantapu tahrir tax records of 1545, Bourj had a population of 169 households, 11 bachelors and oneimam, all Shia Muslims. Shia of Bourj were also identified inal-Duwayhi's writings in 1661, and the town was then known as Burj Beirut (lit. "the tower of Beirut").[7][page needed]
Prior to the start of theLebanese Civil War in 1975, Dahieh was one of the increasingly urbanized rural settlements outside of Beirut, with a mixed community ofChristians and Shia Muslims. From 1920 to 1943 many Shia moved to Dahieh fromSouthern Lebanon andBeqaa Valley, where theFrench mandate cracked down on Shiite anti-French rebels in June 1920. More Shiites arrived in the early 1960s escaping financial hardship and state neglect of thecountryside. By the start of 1975, 45% of Lebanese Shiites were living inGreater Beirut.[7][page needed]
Dahieh's population further increased during the war. By 1976, around 100,000 Shia had been displaced from theEast Beirut canton following sectarian violence in theBlack Saturday andKarantina massacres.AyatollahMohammad Hussein Fadlallah was among them. Most of the newcomers were destitute, leading to solidarity and self-reliance.[7][page needed] More Shiites arrived in Dahieh following the1978 and1982 Lebanon War.[8] Unwilling to live under the IsraeliSouth Lebanon security belt administration, more Shiites moved out of their villages to Beirut. By 1986, an estimated 800,000 Shias were living in Dahieh, constituting the majority of Shia in Lebanon.[5]
Hezbollah's television station,Al-Manar, was targeted in the area.[1][9]
Hours after the August 14, 2006, ceasefire, Hezbollah pledged to reconstruct houses for the residents of Dahieh, and offered rent money for the period in which they were being built.[10]
On September 22, 2006, Hezbollah's leaderHassan Nasrallah attended a mass rally in Dahieh declaring a "Divine Victory" against Israel. Apart from mentioning Hezbollah having 20,000 rockets at its disposal, he also went on to criticize Lebanon's central government, stating it should step down and form a unity government.[11] According to the Hezbollah's "Jihad al-Bina' " association,[12] the reconstruction of Dahieh started from May 25, 2007, the day of the anniversary of the 2000 Israeli pullout from Lebanon.[12]
On July 9, 2013, 53 people were wounded after a bomb exploded in a busy shopping street in the suburb; the blast came on a busy shopping day on the eve of the holy Muslim month ofRamadan.[13] A faction of theFree Syrian Army (FSA) claimed responsibility; however, FSA spokesman Luay Miqdad condemned the attack, as well as another attack the following month.[13]
On August 16, 2013, a month after the first bomb, another car bomb blast hit the suburb.[14] At least 21 people were killed and 200 injured in the massive explosion, the majority of whom children.[14] A group linked to theSyrian opposition calling itself the "Brigade of Aisha" claimed responsibility for the attack.[14]
On September 27, 2024, Israel launched airstrikes on the suburb, which led to theassassination of Hassan Nasrallah as part of the attack, as confirmed on the following day.[15]
