Karantina massacre
Massacre during the Lebanese Civil War / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Karantina massacre (Arabic: مجزرة الكرنتينا; French: Massacre de La Quarantaine/Karantina) took place on January 18, 1976, early in the Lebanese Civil War. La Quarantaine, known in Arabic as Karantina, was a Muslim-inhabited district in mostly Christian East Beirut controlled by forces of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO),[4] and inhabited by Palestinians, Kurds, Syrians, Armenians and Lebanese Sunnis.[5][6] The fighting and subsequent killings also involved an old quarantine area near the port and nearby Maslakh quarter.[7][8][9] According to then-Washington Post-correspondent Jonathan Randal, "Many Lebanese Muslim men and boys were rounded up and separated from the women and children and massacred," while the women and young girls were violently raped and robbed.[10]
Karantina massacre | |
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Part of the Lebanese Civil War | |
Location | Beirut, Lebanon |
Coordinates | 33°53′13″N 35°30′47″E |
Date | January 18, 1976; 48 years ago (1976-01-18) |
Target | Karantina district of Beirut |
Attack type | Massacre |
Deaths | 600-1,500[2] |
Perpetrators | Kataeb, Guardians of the Cedars, Tiger militia[3] |
Motive | Anti-Palestinianism |
Karantina was overrun by militias of the right-wing and mostly Christian Lebanese Front, specifically the Kataeb Party (Phalangists),[11][12] resulting in the deaths of approximately 600-1,500 people,[13] mostly Lebanese Muslims, in which the right-wing claimed the toll were mostly left-wing fighters.[8] After Kataeb Regulatory Forces (KRF), Guardians of the Cedars (GoC), National Liberal Party's Tiger militia and Lebanese Youth Movement (LYM) forces took control of the Karantina district on 18 January 1976, Tel al-Zaatar was placed under siege, leading to the Tel al-Zaatar massacre.[3]
The Damour massacre was a reprisal for the Karantina massacre.[8][14]