International Reporting Project

Timeline of events in Lebanese history

by Julie Goodman, Fall 2004 IRP Fellow
Reprinted with permission of The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS

1943: Lebanon gains independence.

1975: Civil war breaks out between Christians and Muslims.

1982: Israel launches full-scale invasion in southern Lebanon; buffer zone created against Hezbollah attacks.

1982: Multinational force, including U.S. Marines, deploys to Beirut.

April 18, 1983: A suicide attack at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut leaves 63 dead.

Oct. 23, 1983: Headquarters of U.S. and French forces are bombed, killing 298.

Jan. 18, 1984: American University of Beirut President Malcolm Kerr assassinated.

Sept. 20, 1984: U.S. Embassy annex in Beirut is bombed, killing nine.

1989: Ta'if Accord signed, marking the beginning of the end of the war.

2000: Israel withdraws troops from southern Lebanon.

Sept. 2, 2004: U.N. resolution passed calling for Syrian troops to withdraw.

Sept. 3, 2004: Pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud's term extended under Syrian influence.

Oct. 1, 2004: Assassination attempt made on opposition leader and former Minister Marwan Hamade.

Oct. 20, 2004: Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri resigns amid protest over Syrian control.