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TheLebanese Resistance Regiments (Arabic:أفواج المقاومة اللبنانية,romanized: ʾAfwāj al-Muqāwama al-Lubnāniyya, orأَمَلAMAL), also designatedLebanese Resistance Battalions,Lebanese Resistance Detachments,Lebanese Resistance Legions andBattalions de la Resistance Libanaise (BRL), but simply known by itsArabic acronymأَمَلʾAmal which means "Hope", were the military wing of theAmal Movement, a political organization representing theMuslim Shia community of Lebanon. The movement's political wing was officially founded in February 1973 from a previous organization bearing the same name and its military wing was formed in January 1975. The Amal militia was a major player in theLebanese Civil War from 1975 to 1991. The militia has now been disarmed, though the movement itself, now known as theAmal Movement (Arabic:Harakat Amal), is a notableShia political party in Lebanon alongsideHezbollah.
The Amal militia was founded in 1975 as the militant wing of the Movement of the Disinherited, aShi'a political movement founded byMusa al-Sadr[15] andHussein el-Husseini a year earlier. It became one of the most important Shi'a Muslim militias during theLebanese Civil War. Amal grew strong with the support of, and through its ties with,Syria[16] and the 300,000 Shi'a internal refugees from southern Lebanon after the Israeli bombings in the early 1980s. Amal's practical objectives were to gain greater respect forLebanon's Shi'ite population and the allocation of a larger share of governmental resources for the Shi'ite-dominated southern part of the country.[17]
At its zenith, the militia had 14,000 troops. Amal fought a long campaign against Palestinian refugees during the Lebanese Civil War (called theWar of the Camps). After the War of the Camps, Amal fought a bloody battle against rival Shi'a groupHezbollah for control ofBeirut, which provoked Syrian military intervention. Hezbollah itself was formed by religious members of Amal who had left afterNabih Berri's assumption of full control and the subsequent resignation of most of Amal's earliest senior members.
Harakat al-Mahrumin (حركة المحرومين | The Movement of the Dispossessed) was established by ImamMusa al-Sadr and member of parliamentHussein el-Husseini in 1974.On January 20, 1975, the Lebanese Resistance Detachments (also referred to in English as 'Battalions of the Lebanese Resistance') is formed as the military wing of the Movement of the Disinherited under the leadership of al-Sadr. In 1978 the founder al-Sadr disappears in mysterious circumstances while visitingLibya and was succeeded byHussein el-Husseini as leader of Amal.
In 1979Palestinian guerrillas attempt to assassinate then-Secretary GeneralHussein el-Husseini by launching missiles into his home, outsideBeirut.
In 1980 Hussein el-Husseini resigned from Amal leadership after refusing to "drench Amal in blood" and fight alongside thePLO or any other faction. That same year,Nabih Berri became one of the three highest officials of Amal, marking the entry of Amal in the Lebanese Civil War.
When theIran–Iraq War raged in September 1980, around 500 to 600 Amal volunteers participated in the war next toMostafa Chamran, one of the co-founders of Amal.[18]
In summer 1982Husayn Al-Musawi, deputy head and official spokesman of Amal, broke away to form theIslamistIslamic Amal Movement. In May 1985, heavy fighting erupted between Amal and Palestinian camp militias for the control of theShatila andBurj el-Barajneh refugee camps in Beirut, sparking the so-called "War of the Camps". Over the following two years the fighting took place in four distinct phases, totalling around eight months of conflict. Amal, despite having tanks, artillery and support from theLebanese army’s 6th Brigade, failed in its objective of dislodging PLO fighters from the refugee camps and was left significantly weakened.[19] The siege of the refugee camps caused tension between Amal and Hezbollah who were opposed to the offensive.
In December 1985 Nabih Berri of Amal,Walid Jumblatt of the DruzeProgressive Socialist Party, andElie Hobeika of theLebanese Forces signed theTripartite Accord in Damascus which was supposed to give strong influence to Damascus regarding Lebanese matters. The agreement never came into effect due to Hobeika's ousting.
In mid-February 1987 fighting broke out in West Beirut between Amal and the DruzePLA in what became known as the "War of the Flag". The conflict was sparked when a PLA fighter entered the Channel 7 TV station (French:Télé Liban – Canal 7) building in theTallet el-Khayyat quarter[20] and replaced theLebanese national flag with the PSP flag. Its positions thinly manned due to theWar of the Camps, an alliance of PSP, LCP/Popular Guard andSSNP drove out Amal of most of its former positions in West Beirut. As a result, on 21 February, 7,000 Syria commandos, under the command of Major-GeneralGhazi Kanaan, were deployed into West Beirut. Assisted by LebaneseInternal Security Forces (ISF) gendarmes they immediately closed over fifty militia “offices” and banned the carrying of weapons in public. Young men with beards were detained.[21]
On February 17, 1988 the American Chief of theUnited Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO) observer mission in Lebanon, Lt. Col.William R. Higgins, was abducted and later killed after meeting with Amal's political leader of southern Lebanon. It was believed that Hezbollah abducted Higgins, though the party to this day denies it and insists that it was done to create problems between them and the Amal movement.[22] In April 1988, Amal launched an all-out assault on Hezbollah positions in south Lebanon and the southern suburbs of Beirut, which became known as theWar of Brothers. By May 1988 Hezbollah gained control of 80% of the Shi'ite suburbs ofBeirut through well-timed assaults.[23]
In 1989 Amal accepted theTaif agreement (mainly authored by el-Husseini) in order to end the civil war.
On 17 July 1990 fighters from the PalestinianFatah militia moved into the Iqlim al-Tufah hills, southeast ofSidon in an attempt to separate fighters from Amal and Hizbullah. Fifteen people had been killed in the fighting. Fatah had played a similar role during clashes in the same area in January.[24] A later report describes two weeks of fighting around Sidon, culminating with Hizbullah taking the village ofJarjouh from Amal on 16 July. This report puts the number of dead at around two hundred.[25]
In September 1991, with background in the Syrian controlled end of the Lebanese Civil War in October 1990, 2,800 Amal troops joined the Lebanese army.
The origins of the Amal movement lie with theLebanese cleric of Iranian origin ImamMusa al-Sadr. In 1974, theHarakat al-Mahrumin (Movement of the Deprived)[26] was established by al-Sadr and member of parliamentHussein el-Husseini to attempt to reform the Lebanese system. While acknowledging its support base to be the "traditionally under-represented politically and economically disadvantaged"Shi'a community,[27] it aimed, according to Palmer-Harik, to seek social justice for all deprived Lebanese.[17] Although influenced byIslamic ideas, it was asecular movement trying to unite people along communal rather than religious or ideological lines.[16] TheGreek-Catholic Archbishop ofBeirut, Mgr. Grégoire Haddad, was among the founders of the Movement.[28][29]
On January 20, 1975, the Lebanese Resistance Detachments (also referred to in English as 'The Battalions of the Lebanese Resistance') were formed as a military wing of The Movement of the Disinherited under the leadership of al-Sadr, and came to be popularly known as Amal (from the acronymAfwaj al-Mouqawma Al-Lubnaniyya).[17] In 1978, al-Sadr disappeared in mysterious circumstances while visitingLibya, the Amal movement's regional supporter at the time. There are credible allegations that Yasser Arafat asked Gaddafi to "disappear" al-Sadr.[citation needed] Hussein el-Husseini became leader of Amal and was followed byNabih Berri in April 1980 after el-Husseini resigned. One of the consequences of the rise of Berri, a less educated leader, the increasing secular yet sectarian nature of the movement and move away from an Islamic context for the movement was a splintering of the movement.
The movement's militia was secretly established on 20 January 1975 with the help of the PalestinianFatah, who provided weapons and training at theirBeqaa facilities. The formation of Amal was revealed in July that year when an accidental explosion of a landmine at one of theFatahland camps nearBaalbek killed over 60 Shia trainees, which caused considerable embarrassment to Fatah and forced Al-Sadr to admit publicly the militia's existence.[30][31] When the civil war finally broke out in April 1975, Amal's strength stood at about 1,500–3,000 armed militants, backed by a motor force ofgun trucks andtechnicals fitted withheavy machine guns,recoilless rifles andanti-aircraftautocannons.
By the mid-1980s however, the movement totalled 14,000–16,000 militiamen trained and armed bySyria, of which 3,000–6,000 were full-time uniformed regulars[32] and the remaining 10,000 part-time male and female irregulars. Amal's regular forces were bolstered by 6,000 ex-Lebanese Army soldiers from theSixth Brigade, a predominantlyShia Muslim formation that went over to their co-religionists following the collapse of the government forces in February 1984.[33][34][35] Commanded by the Shi'ite Colonel (later,Major general)Abd al-Halim Kanj,[36][37] and headquartered at theHenri Chihab Barracks at Jnah in the south-westernChyah suburb of West Beirut, this formation was subsequently enlarged by absorbing Shia deserters from other Army units, which included the 97th Battalion from theSeventh Brigade.[33][34][38] Outside the Lebanese Capital, Amal militia forces operating inBaalbek andHermel received support from certain elements of the mainly Shi'iteFirst Brigade stationed in theBeqaa Valley.[39]
Amal's main sphere of influence encompassed the Shia-populated slum districts located at south-western Beirut ofChyah,Bir Abed,Bir Hassan,Ouza'i andKhalde, with the latter including the adjoiningInternational Airport, which they brought under their control in late February 1984.[40] Outside the Lebanese Capital, they also operated atBaalbek andHermel in theBeqaa, and in the southernJabal Amel region, notably around the port cities ofTyre andSidon, and in theIqlim al-Tuffah region down to theUNIFIL zone.[41]
In addition to Syrian backing, Amal received some financial support fromLibya andIran – first by theShah in 1975-78, replaced after 1979 by the new Islamic regime[citation needed] – and from the Lebanese Shi'ite immigrant community inWest Africa. Additional revenues came fromprotection rackets (Arabic:Khuwa) imposed on Shia neighborhoods[39] and from tolls levied in illegal ports such as Ouza'i in Beirut, along withZahrani, whose harbour and the adjacent Tapline oil refinery were employed in the contraband of fuel, andSarafand (used for smuggling imported cars and other goods), both located south of Sidon.[42]
The Movement had its own civil administration and assistance networks, gathered since the mid-1980s under the authority of the so-called 'Council of the South' (Arabic: مجلس الجنوب |Majliss al-Janoub). Headed by Amal's vice-presidentMuhammad Baydoun and based at the Christian town ofMaghdouché near Sidon, it was responsible for running schools, hospitals, and conducting public works on Shia areas. Amal also run from its headquarters atRue Hamra – located on thenamesake district –, in association withZaher el-Khatib'sToilers League a joint television service,"The Orient" (Arabic:Al-Machriq).[42]
In the summer of 1982,Husayn Al-Musawi, deputy head and official spokesman of Amal, broke with Berri over his willingness to go along with U.S. mediation in Lebanon rather than attack Israeli troops, his membership in the National Salvation Council alongside the Christians,[43] and his opposition to pledging allegiance to AyatollahKhomeini.[44]
Musawi formed theIslamistIslamic Amal Movement, based inBaalbeck. It was aided by the Islamic Republic ofIran which, in the wake of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, strove not only to help Lebanon's Shi'a, but to export thePanIslamic revolution to the rest of the Muslim world, something Musawi strongly supported, saying, "We are her (the Islamic Republic's) children."
We are seeking to formulate an Islamic society which in the final analysis will produce an Islamic state. ... The Islamic revolution will march to liberate Palestine and Jerusalem, and the Islamic state will then spread its authority over the region of which Lebanon is only a part.[45]
About 1,500 members of Iran'sIslamic Revolutionary Guard or Pasdaran, arrived at theBeqaa Valley at the time and "directly contributed to ensure the survival and growth of al-Musawi's newly-created small militia," providing training, indoctrination and funding.[46] Iran was in many ways a natural ally of Shia in Lebanon as it was far larger than Lebanon, oil-rich, and both Shi'a-majority and Shi'a-ruled. And of course, founderMusa al-Sadr had come from Iran. Iran's generous funding meant generous pay for the militias recruits—$150–200 per month plus cost-free education and medical treatment for themselves and their families—that "far exceeded what other [Lebanese] militias were able to offer." This was a major incentive among the impoverished Shi'a community, and induced "a sizable number of Amal fighters [to] defected regularly to the ranks" of Islamic Amal, and later Hizb'Allah.[47]
By August 1983, Islamic Amal andHezbollah were "effectively becoming one under the Hezbollah label,"[48] and by late 1984, Islamic Amal, along with "all the known major groups" in Lebanon, had been absorbed into Hezbollah.[49]
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During theCoastal War in March–April 1985, Amal militia forces joined in a Syrian-backed coalition with thePopular Nasserist Organization (PNO), theAl-Mourabitoun and theDruzeProgressive Socialist Party (PSP) militias, which defeated the ChristianLebanese Forces (LF) attempts to establish bridgeheads atDamour andSidon.[50]
The War of the Camps was a series of battles in the mid-1980s between Amal and Palestinian groups. TheDruze-orientedProgressive Socialist Party (PSP) andHezbollah supported the Palestinians while Syria backed Amal.
Although most of the Palestinian guerrillas were expelled during the1982 Israeli invasion, Palestinian militias began to regain their footing after the Israeli withdrawal firstly from Beirut, thenSidon andTyre. Syria viewed this revival with some anxiety: though in the same ideological camp, Damascus had little control over most Palestinians organizations and was afraid that the build-up of Palestinian forces could lead to a new Israeli invasion. Moreover, Syria's minorityAlawite regime was never comfortable with the Sunni militias in Lebanon, traditionally aligned with Egypt and Iraq. In Lebanon, Shia-Palestinian relations had been very tense since the late 1960s. After the multinational force withdrew from Beirut in February 1984, Amal and the PSP took control of west Beirut and Amal built a number of outposts around the camps (in Beirut but also in the south). On April 15, 1985, Amal and the PSP attacked theAl-Mourabitoun, the main LebaneseSunni militia and the closest ally of thePLO in Lebanon. The Al-Mourabitoun forces were vanquished after a week of heavy fighting and their leader,Ibrahim Kulaylat was sent into exile.[51] On May 19, 1985, heavy fighting erupted between Amal and the Palestinians for the control of the Sabra, Shatila and Burj el-Barajneh camps (all in Beirut). Despite its efforts, Amal could not take the control of the camps. The death toll remains unknown, with estimates ranging from a few hundreds to a few thousands. This and heavy political pressure from theArab League led to a cease-fire on June 17.
The situation remained tense and fights occurred again in September 1985 and March 1986. On May 19, 1986, heavy fighting erupted again. Despite new armaments provided by Syria, Amal could not take control of the camps. Many cease-fires were announced, but most of them did not last more than a few days. The situation began to cool after Syria deployed some troops on June 24, 1986.
There was tension in the south, an area where Shi'as and Palestinians were both present. This unavoidably led to frequent clashes. On September 29, 1986, fighting erupted at the Rashidiyye refugee camp near Tyre. The conflict immediately spread to Sidon and Beirut. Palestinian forces managed to occupy the Amal-controlled town ofMaghdouché on the eastern hills of Sidon to open the road to Rashidiyye. Syrian forces helped Amal and Israel launched air strikes against PLO position around Maghdouche. A cease-fire was negotiated between Amal and pro-Syrian Palestinian groups on December 15, 1986, but it was rejected byYasser Arafat'sFatah. Fatah tried to appease the situation by giving some of its positions to Hezbollah and to the Al-Mourabitoun. The situation became relatively calm for a while, but the shelling of the camps continued. In Beirut, a blockade of the camps led to a dramatic shortage of food and medications inside the camps. Palestinian gunners in theChouf shelled Shia districts. In mid-February 1987, fighting broke out between Amal and thePLA andPSP militias which resulted in Amal being driven out of large portions of West Beirut. Consequently, the Syrian army returned to West Beirut, February 21, 1987, after an absence of three and a half years. On April 7, 1987, Amal finally lifted the siege and handed its positions around the camps to the Syrian army. According to theNew York Times (March 10, 1992, citing figures from the Lebanese police), 3,781 were killed in the fighting.
On February 17, 1988, Lt. ColWilliam R. Higgins, American Chief of theUNTSO observer group in Lebanon, was abducted from his UN vehicle between Tyre and Nakara after a meeting with Abd al-Majid Salah, Amal's political leader in southern Lebanon. It soon became "clear that Sheikh al-Musawi, the commander to Hezbollah's Islamic Resistance, had been personally responsible for the abduction of Lt. Col Higgins in close cooperation with both Sheikh Abdul Karim Obeid, the local commander of Hizballah's military wing, and Mustafa al-Dirani, the former head of Amal's security service."[22] This is seen as a direct challenge to Amal by Hezbollah, and Amal responds by launching an offensive against Hezbollah in the south where it "scores decisive military victories ... leading to the expulsion of a number of Hizballah clergy to the Beqqa". In Beirut's southern suburbs however, where fighting also raged, Hizballah was much more successful. "[E]lements within Hizballah and the Iranian Pasdaran established a joint command to assassinate high-ranking Amal officials and carry out operations against Amal checkpoints and centers."[52]
By May, Amal had suffered major losses, its members were defecting to Hezbollah, and by June, Syria had to intervene militarily to rescue Amal from defeat.[22] In January 1989, a truce in the "ferocious" fighting between Hizballah and Amal was arranged by Syrian and Iranian intervention. "Under this agreement, Amal's authority over the security of southern Lebanon [is] recognized while Hizballah [is] permitted to maintain only a nonmilitary presence through political, cultural, and informational programmes."[53]
Upon the end of the war in October 1990, Amal militia forces operating in the Capital and the Beqaa were ordered by the Lebanese Government on March 28, 1991, to disband and surrender their heavy weaponry by April 30 as stipulated by theTaif Agreement,[54] a decision that came a few months after the Movement's leadership had already announced the dissolution of its own military force.[55][56] The Sixth Brigade was re-integrated into the structure of theLebanese Armed Forces (LAF) whilst an additional 2,800 ex-Amal militiamen joined the re-formed Lebanese Army in September of the following year.[57]
Despite the order to disarm, Amal guerrilla units in the south remained in place until the final Israeli pull-out in May 2000 and the subsequent collapse of the "Security Belt". One of their last significant operations was theAnsariya Ambush on September 15, 1997, where Amal commandos underHezbollah command successfully ambushed an IsraeliShayetet 13 naval commando force.[58]
By 2006, Amal had a new unnamed military wing, which participated in the2006 Lebanon War alongside Hezbollah.[59]
Amal's military wing began participating in the2023 Israel-Lebanon border clashes in November by launching strikes on Israeli military barracks;[60][61] one of its members was later killed by Israeli shelling of the town ofRab Thalathine.[62] Another fighter was killed in August by an Israeli strike on a car in the town ofKhiam.[63] This military wing, which has an elite unit called "Al-Abbas Force", has also participated in fighting againstIsrael's invasion of Lebanon in October 2024; two fighters from the Al-Abbas Force were killed in battles against the IDF.[64]
Most of Amal's own weapons and equipment were provided by thePLO,Libya,[65]Iran andSyria or pilfered from theLebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and theInternal Security Forces (ISF) reserves after their collapse in January 1976. Additional weaponry, vehicles and other, non-lethal military equipments were procured in the internationalblack market.
Amal militiamen were provided with a variety of small-arms, includingMAT-49,Sa 25/26[66] andCrvena Zastava Automat M56 submachine guns,M1 Garand (or its Italian-produced copy, the Beretta Model 1952) andSKS[67]semi-automatic rifles,AMD-65 assault carbines,CETME Model C,[67]Heckler & Koch G3,[68][69][67]FN FAL,[67]M16A1,[67]AK-47 andAKM assault rifles[67] (other variants included theZastava M70, ChineseType 56, RomanianPistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965, Bulgarian AKK/AKKS and former East German MPi-KMS-72 assault rifles). Several models of handguns were also used, includingColt Cobra .38 Special snub-nose revolvers,[68]Tokarev TT-33,CZ 75,M1911A1,FN P35 andMAB PA-15 pistols. Squad weapons consisted ofHeckler & Koch HK21,[70]RPK,RPD,PK/PKM,Rheinmetall MG 3,FN MAG andM60 light machine guns,[68] with heavierBrowning M1919A4 .30 Cal,Browning M2HB .50 Cal andDShKM machine guns being employed as platoon and company weapons.FN FAL assault rifles equipped with telescopic sights were used for sniping.
Grenade launchers and portable anti-tank weapons consisted ofM79 grenade launchers,M72 LAW andRPG-7rocket launchers, whilst crew-served and indirect fire weapons includedM2 60mm light mortars,82-PM-41 82mm mortars and thirty120-PM-43 (M-1943) 120mm heavy mortars,[71] plusType 56 75mm,[72]B-10 82mm,B-11 107mm andM40A1 106mmrecoilless rifles (often mounted ontechnicals). SovietPTRS-41 14.5mm anti-tank rifles were used for heavy sniping.
Amal's technicals' and gun trucks' fleet consisted mostly ofM151A2 jeeps,Land Rover II-III,[73]Santana Series III (Spanish-produced version of the Land-Rover series III),Morattab Series IV (Iranian-produced unlicensed version of the Land-Rover long wheelbase series III),[74]Toyota Land Cruiser (J40/J42),[75]Jeep Gladiator J20,[75][76]GMC Sierra Custom K25/K30,Dodge D series (3rd generation),Chevrolet C-10/C-15 Cheyenne,Chevrolet C-20 Scottsdale andChevrolet C/K 3rd generation light pickup trucks, andChevrolet C-50 medium-duty,Dodge F600 medium-duty andGMC C4500 medium-duty trucks, andGMC C7500 heavy-duty trucks. These were partially supplanted in the 1980s byVolvo Laplander L3314A light utility vehicles,[75][77]Dodge Ram (1st generation) pickups,[78]Santana 88 Ligero Militar jeeps,[79]Nissan 620 pickup trucks andNissan Patrol 160-Series (3rd generation) pickups,[80]Jeep CJ-5 andJeep CJ-8 (Civilian versions of theWillys M38A1 MD jeep),[81] andM35A2 2½-ton 6x6 cargo trucks.[82][83][74]
The Sixth Brigade aligned an armoured battalion fieldingAlvis Saladinarmoured cars,[84][85]AMX-13 light tanks,M48A5main battle tanks,[86] and three to four mechanized infantry battalions onM113,Alvis Saracen andVAB (4x4)[87][88][89]armored personnel carriers. The collapse of theFourth Brigade in February 1984 also allowed Amal to seize an additional number ofPanhard AML-90armoured cars,[90] AMX-13 light tanks, andAMX-VCI and M113 APCs.[91][92][93][94][95]
In addition, the well-equipped Beirut-based Amal regular forces also operated 30 or 50 Syrian-loanedT-55A MBTs,[86][96][55][71] and two or three ex-PLOZSU-23-4M1 ShilkaSPAAG tracked vehicles seized from theAl-Mourabitoun in April 1985,[97][98] whereas their guerrilla units fighting in the south of the country were able to add a few M113 Zelda[86][99] andM3/M9 Zahlam half-tracks[100][101] captured from theIsrael Defense Forces (IDF) and theirSouth Lebanon Army (SLA) proxies.
Amal also fielded a powerful artillery corps equipped with Syrian-loaned Soviet130 mm towed field gun M1954 (M-46) and eighteen122 mm howitzer 2A18 (D-30) pieces,[90][71] plus towedType 63 107mm,[102] truck-mountedBM-11 122mm[86] and twentyBM-21 Grad 122mm[71]multiple rocket launchers, whilst the Sixth Brigade aligned an artillery battalion equipped with USM114 155 mm howitzers. SovietZPU (ZPU-1, ZPU-2, ZPU-4) 14.5mm[76] andZU-23-2 23mm Anti-Aircraftautocannons (mounted ontechnicals, M35A2 trucks and M113 APCs)[103][104][105] were employed in bothair defense and direct fire supporting roles.
Amal militiamen usually wore in the field a mix of military uniforms and western civilian clothes, though they were known to have worn a variety of battle dress, depending on whom they allied to and what other armed forces were occupying the Shia-populated areas where the movement operated inSouthern Lebanon,West Beirut and theBekaa Valley.
Amal regular forces adopted early on theLebanese Armyolive green fatigues (a special domestic variant of theUS ArmyOG-107 cotton sateen utilities) as their standard field dress,[106] though surplus military clothing such as olive greenFrench Army Mle 1964 'Satin 300' fatigues,Syrian Army olive green fatigues and captured Israeliolive drab Uniform "B" (Hebrew:Madei Bet) fatigues were used as well.
Camouflage uniforms consisted of Syrian or PLOLizard horizontal and vertical patterns' fatigues, Syrian copies of thePakistani Arid Brushstroke (nicknamed "Wisp") fatigues, ex-PLO South Korean "turtle shell" (a.k.a. "geometric") and Czechoslovakian Vz 60 "Salamander" (Mlok) patterns fatigues, and capturedU.S. WoodlandBattle Dress Uniforms (BDU) or locally produced cheap copies.[68] T-shirts in USHighland pattern were sometimes worn.
Civilian or surplus militaryParkas, Syrian-supplied olive green andcamouflage USM-1965 field jackets, captured Israeli olive greenDubonParkas and ex-PLO Iraqi copies of thePakistan Army olive-brown woollen pullover (a.k.a. 'woolly-pully') provided with breast pockets and shoulder straps, were worn in cold weather.
Usual headgear consisted of ex-Lebanese ArmyBaseball caps (a domestic version of theUS Army OG-106 Baseball cap),[106] complemented by US BDU caps andboonie hats inU.S. Woodland camouflage pattern, olive green or camouflagebucket hats, and evenSoviet M-38 Field Hats inmustard khaki cotton (Russian:Panamanka).Black andmidnight blueberets were worn French-style, pulled to the left, although some Amal militiamen wore them pulled to the right. Besides hats and berets, civilian woollen knitted caps and military commando caps of various colours were used in the winter.
Cloth or fabrichoods with eye holes,rib-knittwo-hole or three-hole balaclavas,[68]transparent women's stockings and commercial white plastic face masks were worn by Amal militiamen to conceal identity; a black-and-white or red-and-whitekaffiyeh could also be worn around the neck as afoulard.[68]
The black leather combat boots worn by Amal regulars came from Lebanese Army stocks or were provided by the PLO and the Syrians, complemented by Israeli black or brown leather paratrooper boots captured from theLebanese Forces (LF).[68]Low-top andhigh-topPataugas khaki or olive canvas-and-rubber patrol boots were also used, either obtained from PLO stocks or provided by Syria. Several models of civiliansneakers or "trainers" and"chucks", black or brown leather laced low shoes,boat shoes andloafers, commercial plastic or rubberslides andflip-flops, andleather sandals were widely used by Amal militiamen.
In the field, Amal infantrymen could be found wearing a variety of helmet types, consisting ofUS M-1 andFrench M1951 NATO (French:Casque Mle 1951 OTAN) steel helmets captured from the Lebanese Army, and IsraeliOrlite OR-201 (Model 76) ballistic helmets seized from the LF or theSouth Lebanon Army (SLA). Amal armoured crewmen, depending on the vehicle they manned, wore Soviet TSh-4M black tanker's padded cloth helmets[75] provided by Syria or ex-Lebanese Army USfibreglass "bone dome" Combat Vehicle Crewman (CVC) T-56-6 helmets and CVC DH-132 helmets in ballistic Kevlar. Some Amal fighters also made use of capturedflak jackets, either theBallistic Nylon US M-1952/69 'Half-collar' version or the Israeli-producedKevlarRabintex Industries LtdType III RAV 200 Protective Vest (Hebrew: "Shapats"), in turn obtained from the Lebanese Army, LF and SLA.
The web gear used by Amal militiamen was varied, consisting on the US ArmyM-1956 load-carrying equipment (LCE) inkhaki cotton canvas and theall-purpose lightweight individual carrying equipment (ALICE) in OGNylon captured from the Lebanese Army, ChiCom Type 56 AK and Type 56 SKS chest rigs inkhaki or olive green cotton fabric for the AK-47 assault rifle and the SKS semi-automatic rifle, Soviet three-cell and four-cell AK-47 magazine pouches in khaki or OG canvas, and capturedIDF olive greenNylonEphod Combat Vests; several variants of locally made, multi-pocket chest rigs and assault vests in camouflage cloth, khaki and OG canvas or Nylon were also widely used.[68] Anti-tank teams issued with theRPG-7 rocket launcher received the correspondent Soviet rocket bag models inkhaki canvas, the Gunner Backpack 6SH12, the Assistant Gunner Backpack and the Munitions Bag 6SH11; Polish and East German versions in rubberized canvas were employed as well.
The Amal Militia apparently never devised a system of rank, branch or unit insignia of their own, although its personnel did wear a variety of field recognition signs. AnIslamic green cloth, fabric or canvasbrassard of roughly triangular shape and attached to a shoulder strap, bearing the round printed or embroidered full-colour Amal Movement logo was worn on either the upper left shoulder or the right shoulder, whilst a red brassard appears to have been given to the members of the Amal Military Police corps. White, olive green and black T-shirts stamped with either the Amal logo, Amal militia unit and sub-unit insignia or the Movement leaders' effigy were commonly worn by Shiite fighters.[68]
Some Amal militiamen wore a small, plastified tag bearing the full-colour portrait of ImanMusa al-Sadr hung on a black cord around the neck; period photos also show that Amal fighters also applied rectangular-shaped printed paperstickers bearing the image of al-Sadr to their assault rifle stocks.
The Amal militia has made a few major TV and film appearances, most notably in the 1988 Americanmade-for-televisiondrama filmThe Taking of Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story, which was based on theTrans World Airlines Flight 847 hijacking incident in June 1985. They are also featured in the 1990 Americanmilitaryaction filmNavy SEALs and in the 2001 AmericanactionthrillerfilmSpy Game, appearing on several street fighting scenes set during theWar of the Camps inBeirut.
Amal troops also appear on 1980s archived TV news footage in the episode of the 2018Al Jazeera EnglishWar Hotels documentary series dedicated to theCommodore Hotel in west Beirut.[107]
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