The archive · Chronological
Timeline
Each entry below is one recorded event. Casualty figures are given as ranges where sources disagree; blanks are preserved where records are absent.
Last reviewed · Curated and published by the Christian Massacres of Lebanon Memorial Archive
May–July 1860
Mount Lebanon & Damascus· Mount Lebanon
Casualties: an estimated 7,000 to 11,000 killed· approximate
The 1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and its aftermath in Damascus killed thousands of Maronite and other Christian villagers and prompted the first international humanitarian intervention in the region.
Sources: Ottoman archives; Churchill, The Druses and the Maronites (1862)
Permalink to this record1915–1918
Mount Lebanon — Great Famine (Genocide)· Mount Lebanon
Casualties: an estimated 200,000 killed (range 150,000–300,000); roughly half of Mount Lebanon's pre-war population of 400,000· approximate
Genocide. During the First World War, the Ottoman authorities under Jamal Pasha requisitioned railways for military use and blocked the sale and transport of grain from Beirut and the Syrian interior into Mount Lebanon, while an Allied naval blockade by France and the United Kingdom sealed the coast and cut off diaspora food aid staged in Egypt. A massive desert-locust swarm in 1915 devoured the remaining crops; the collapse of the silk export economy stripped families of the means to buy food; and the expulsion of British, French, and Russian nationals and missionaries gutted the medical and social services the Maronite communities depended on. Typhus, malaria, cholera, dysentery, and influenza spread through a starving population. Corpses were left unburied in the streets; cases of cannibalism within families were reported; nearly 30% of survivors emigrated, largely to the Americas. The catastrophe unfolded alongside the Armenian, Assyrian, and Greek genocides, and many historians recognize the forced starvation of the Maronites of Mount Lebanon as a deliberate atrocity and an act of ethnic cleansing orchestrated by the Ottoman government.
Sources: Melki, Lebanon in World War I (2010); Tanielian, The Charity of War (2018); Ottoman archives; contemporary Allied consular reports
Permalink to this recordSeptember 1920
Southern Frontier· South
Casualties:
Christian communities situated along the southern frontier were massacred by factions that rejected integration into the State of Greater Lebanon, acting in violent retribution against the new state's proclamation.
Sources:
Permalink to this recordApril 1975 - 1990
Ain El Remmaneh· Mount Lebanon
Casualties: An estimated 120,000 to 150,000 people killed
Once known as the "Switzerland of the Middle East," Lebanon boasted the world's fourth-fastest-growing economy. It served as a premier regional hub for healthcare, education, bank, transit between the West and the East, entertainment, and fashion. During this era, Lebanon took in hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees (around 500,000 people) in 1948 and 1967.
The armed conflict between Palestinian refugees factions and the Jordanian state inside of Jordan, known as Black September or the Jordanian Civil War (1970–1971), ended with the expulsion of armed Palestinian militias from Jordan into Lebanon.
These same militias with the existing Palestinians subsequently brought similar armed conflicts to Lebanon. Hundreds of attacks were carried out against Lebanese Christians prior to 1975.
The Incident: On April 13, 1975, unidentified Palestinian gunmen opened fire on a church in the Christian suburb of Ain El Remmaneh, killing four people, including a bodyguard of Kataeb Party leader Pierre Gemayel. The tension culminated on April 13, 1975, when a bus filled with Palestinian militants entered Ain El Remmaneh, a predominantly Christian town. Christian intelligence had learned of an impending attack mission and intercepted the bus with gunfire.
Later, foreign fighters traveled to Lebanon from various Arab and African nations—including Libya, Somalia, Nigeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, and Sudan—to fight against the Christians. This influx occurred because Palestinian factions had found a highly supportive environment among radical leftist groups in Lebanon.
It is widely known that Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi provided billions of dollars to empower the coalition of Palestinian and leftist Lebanese militias against Christian forces. There are many recorded television broadcasts in which former Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi repeatedly warned Lebanese Christians to convert to Islam in order to live in peace. He later kidnapped and murdered the Muslim Shia leader Imam Musa al-Sadr because al-Sadr refused to support attacking Christians.
Sources: Lebanese and international Historians.
Permalink to this record23 October 1975
Aishiyeh· South
Casualties: approximately 70
The isolated Christian village of Aishiyeh, deep in the South, was attacked and its remaining families killed or expelled after months of siege.
Sources: Testimonies collected by the Maronite League, 1976
Permalink to this record20 January 1976
Damour· Mount Lebanon
Casualties: estimates range from 150 to 582
A predominantly Christian coastal town south of Beirut was overrun and its civilian population killed, displaced, or taken. Homes, the church, and the cemetery were desecrated.
Sources: Fisk, Pity the Nation (1990); Lebanese Red Cross field reports
Permalink to this recordMarch 1977
Southern villages· South
Casualties: unknown — families still submitting names· approximate
A series of small-village killings in the South during early 1977. The archive keeps these entries open pending family submissions.
Sources: Open record — pending
Permalink to this recordMarch 1977
Shouf villages· Mount Lebanon
Casualties: estimates range from 177 to 250+· approximate
This event is known as the Chouf massacres of 1977.
On 16 March 1977, Druze leader Kamal Jumblatt was ambushed and killed around 2:30pm on the mountain road near Baaqlin in the Chouf, along with his driver and a gendarme, allegedly by pro-Syrian SSNP-linked gunmen acting in collusion with Syrian intelligence, though his followers believed Christians were responsible. People's Liberation Army (Druze/PSP) militiamen carried out swift retribution against the local Christian population in the towns and villages around Baakline.
The massacres ran mainly from 16 to 30 March 1977, with additional attacks occurring in mid-August 1977.
Overall estimates put the toll at roughly 177–250 Maronite villagers killed, with breakdowns given by one source as: Mazraat al-Shuf: 52 killed; Maasser al-Shuf: 21 killed; al-Barouk: 28 killed; Botmeh: 9 killed; Kfarnabrakh: 6 killed; Fraydis: 6 killed. Additional attacks also occurred at Baadaran, Shurit, and Ain-Zhalta, and the towns of Moukhtara and Machghara, plus an attack on St George's Church in Brih.
Security officials reported more than 250 Christians killed, many with their throats cut, and at least 7,000 Christians fled their villages, with around 700 traveling to the presidential palace in Baabda seeking government protection. Bodies were mutilated and left on roads, and there were reports of rape.
Note there's a range in the death-toll figures (177–250+) depending on the source, and different outlets attribute somewhat different per-village counts — this reflects the fog typical of civil-war-era atrocity reporting rather than a single settled number.
Sources: Contemporary press accounts, March 1977; Testimonies collected by displaced Shouf families, https://civilsociety-centre.org/english/sir/christian-massacres-chouf-and-west-beirut, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chouf_massacres_(1977), https://civilsociety-centre.org/sir/christian-massacres-chouf-and-west-beirut...
Permalink to this record13 June 1978
Ehden· North
Casualties: approximately 40
An armed raid on the summer residence of the Frangieh family killed Tony Frangieh, his wife Vera, their three-year-old daughter Jihane, and dozens of household and guards.
Sources: Contemporary reports, L'Orient-Le Jour
Permalink to this record1 July 1978
Chekka· North
Casualties: figure disputed; families still seek verification· approximate
Shelling of the coastal town of Chekka and neighboring villages during the Hundred Days' War caused sustained civilian casualties.
Sources: ICRC bulletins, 1978
Permalink to this recordOctober 1978
Ashrafieh, East Beirut· Beirut
Casualties: hundreds over the course of the Hundred Days' War
The prolonged shelling of the predominantly Christian district of Ashrafieh during the Hundred Days' War killed civilians in homes, in shelters, and in the streets over three months.
Sources: Le Réveil archives; Fisk (1990)
Permalink to this record7 July 1980
Safra· Mount Lebanon
Casualties: estimates vary; dozens killed
An intra-Christian assault on the Tigers Militia headquarters left dozens of fighters and staff dead. The archive holds this event because Christian communities carry both the roles of victim and, at times, aggressor within their own memory.
Sources: Multiple Lebanese press accounts, July 1980
Permalink to this recordApril 1981
Zahlé· Beqaa
Casualties: civilian toll disputed; siege lasted three months
The Christian city of Zahlé in the Beqaa was besieged and shelled for months. Homes, schools, and the seminary were struck; families still submit corrections to the casualty record.
Sources: ICRC, 1981; Zahlé municipal archives
Permalink to this recordFebruary 27, 1994
Our Lady of Deliverance Church bombing in Zouk Mikael· Mount Lebanon
Casualties: Killing of 11 people and injuring 54
The Saydet al-Najat Church bombing (or Our Lady of Deliverance Church bombing, Arabic: تفجير كنيسة سيدة النجاة) happened on February 27, 1994 during the Syrian and Iranian occupation of Lebanon, when a bomb exploded in a Maronite Catholic church in the Zouk Mikael town of Lebanon during a Sunday Mass. It resulted in the killing of 11 people and injuring 54, and the jailing of the Christian Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea. Lebanon under the Syrian occupation had its juridicial system totally applying the Syrian orders and the unique Christian elite leader who is opposing the Syrian occupation to Lebanon residing in Lebanon was Samir Geagea. The later, in return accused the Syrian-Lebanese security apparatus for the bombing, which happened during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Later many Lebanese forces fans and members where persecuted, rapped and killed by the Syrian army occupying Lebanon.
Sources: Lebanese elite media MTV News
Permalink to this recordMay 25, 2000
Lebanese Christian Villages at the Borders of Lebanon and Israel· South
Casualties:
Back to 1977 when South of Lebanon was occupied by the Palestinian militias the South Lebanon Army (SLA) was created to resist against the terrorism of the Palestinian militias hosted in Lebanon and the radical left wing. 30% only of this army were Christians and the remaining were Shiaa, Druze, and Suna.
Later, in the 80s the Iranian backed militia Hezbolla and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard dominated the South of Lebanon with the Palestinians.
Many of those Christians who crossed into Israel were afraid because the leader of Hezbollah threatened to massacre them upon the Israeli withdrawal from the South of Lebanon in May 25, 2000.
Also some members of the South Lebanon Army— who was an official army funded by the Lebanese government left to Israel. This army had been armed, trained, by Israel during its occupation of southern Lebanon to fight against Palestinian terrorist militias in Lebanon and later Hezbollah and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
Sources:
Permalink to this recordMay 8, 2005
Headquarters of Sawt al-Mahaba the Christian radio station and Tele Lumière in Jounieh· Mount Lebanon
Casualties: 22 people were wounded
A 25kg bomb destroyed the headquarters of Sawt al-Mahaba (The Voice of Love) the Christian radio station and Tele Lumière in Jounieh on May 8, 2005. Syrian "Al Assad" army and their allies in Lebanon were behind the explosion.
Location: Jounieh souk, near the main square and Mar Yuhanna Church, north of Beirut
Target: The headquarters of the Maronite Church-affiliated religious radio station Sawt al-Mahaba and Tele Lumière
Damage: The building housing the station was destroyed, and the adjacent Mar Yuhanna Church suffered severe structural damage
Sources: MTV News TV and LBCI TV
Permalink to this recordFebruary 4, 2006
Ashrafieh· Beirut
Casualties: 1 Killed
The attack on the street housing the Danish Consulate in the Achrafieh neighborhood of east Beirut occurred in 2006.To clarify a common misconception, the violent protest was sparked as a reaction to the publication of controversial satirical cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad by the Danish newspaper Jyllands
Sources: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/danish-embassy-in-beirut-torched-04-02-2006/
Permalink to this record27 June 2016
Al-Qaa· Beqaa
Casualties: 5 killed, at least 28 wounded
Four coordinated suicide bombings struck the Christian border village of Al-Qaa at dawn, followed by four more that evening near the church as villagers gathered. The attack targeted a village that had for decades sheltered refugees crossing from Syria.
Sources: Lebanese Internal Security Forces bulletin, 28 June 2016; L'Orient-Le Jour
Permalink to this record4 August 2020
Port of Beirut· Beirut
Casualties: at least 218 killed, over 7,000 injured, 300,000 displaced
The detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate stored unsafely at the port devastated the surrounding Christian districts of Karantina, Mar Mikhael, Gemmayzeh, and Ashrafieh. Homes, churches, hospitals, and heritage buildings were destroyed. No official has yet been held to account.
Sources: Human Rights Watch, 'They Killed Us from the Inside' (2021); Beirut Bar Association filings
Permalink to this recordOctober 14, 2021
Ain el-Remmaneh - Tayouneh· Mount Lebanon
Casualties: 7 killed
Political figures speaking on MTV Lebanon and local residents described the incident as an invasion by the "Shiite duo" Amal & Hezbollah militias to the Christians neighbourhood. Former MP Ashraf Rifi stated on MTV that Hezbollah had set up weapons prior to the event. Furthermore, video reports broadcasted by MTV Prime Time News highlighted hundreds of heavily armed Hezbollah and Amal gunmen entering the area with automatic weapons and rocket launchers, firing into Christians neighborhoods. Affected residents of Ain el-Remmaneh later filed lawsuits blaming Hezbollah leadership for the destruction.
Key Facts of the Incident
- The Location: The street where the fighting occurred acts as a geographic line separating the Chiyah and Ain el-Remmaneh neighborhoods.
- Casualties: The Lebanese Ministry of Health confirmed to the National News Agency that 7 people were killed and dozens were wounded during the hours-long gun battle.
- Press Attacks: The MTV News team itself was physically attacked by party supporters while trying to cover the clashes live.
- Army Intervention: The Lebanese Armed Forces deployed heavily to the area, conducted raids, and arrested individuals from both sides to restore order. Official military investigations later noted that initial public accusations from both political factions were highly distorted compared to the actual sequence of events.
Sources: https://www.mtv.com.lb/en/amp/details/1256093
Permalink to this record
Questions about this timeline
- Which events against Christians in Lebanon does this timeline document?
The timeline documents 20 recorded events against Christian communities in Lebanon, spanning 1860–2021, including massacres, wars, genocides, and targeted attacks — among them Ashrafieh (February 4, 2006), Al-Qaa (27 June 2016), Port of Beirut (4 August 2020), Ain el-Remmaneh - Tayouneh (October 14, 2021). Each entry gives the date, the place, the casualty range, and the sources.
- How reliable are the casualty figures?
Casualty figures are published as documented ranges rather than single numbers, because sources frequently disagree. Where a figure is disputed or a record is absent, the archive says so instead of filling the gap with an estimate.
- Can an individual event be cited?
Yes. Each event has its own permalink of the form https://christiansmassacres.org/timeline#slug — for example /timeline#damour. Cite as: Christian Massacres of Lebanon Memorial Archive, christiansmassacres.org, with the event URL.