Dahr al-Wahsh
Encyclopedia
Dahr al-Wahsh is a village in Lebanon
, located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to the east of Beirut
. It has received attention as the site of an October, 1990 conflict termed the "Dahr al-Wahsh massacre" by Middle-East studies professor Mordechai Nisan
. Interpretation and description of the event varies according to source.
In 2000, the Lebanese militia Guardians of the Cedars
released a statement which included the following description of the event:
Izzat Nweilati, in a paper published by the journal of the Syrian Human Rights Committee, describes the event as the result of a miscommunication, when Lebanese forces at Dahr al-Wahsh did not receive cease-fire orders from Michel Aoun
and so attacked Syrian
troops who were crossing a landmine field. With 150 of their own killed, the Syrians retaliated against the Lebanese for deviating against the "rules of war". Newilati, who indicates that then Defense Minister of Lebanon Albert Mansour described the event as a "double massacre", states that the corpses he found a day after the event had been "shot in the head while their hands were tied to their backs", most unclothed.
Lebanese-born Walid Phares
of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
posits that the Lebanese attacked the Syrians as a matter of choice, refusing to surrender to Syrian invasion. He describes the battle as an "illustrious episode" in "a short war with terrorism", following which the Syrians tortured and executed soldiers and civilians as an act of revenge.
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
, located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) to the east of Beirut
Beirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
. It has received attention as the site of an October, 1990 conflict termed the "Dahr al-Wahsh massacre" by Middle-East studies professor Mordechai Nisan
Mordechai Nisan
Mordechai Nisan is an Israeli professor and scholar of Middle East Studies at the Rothberg International School of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His most recent book, Only Israel West of the River: The Jewish State and the Palestinian Question, appeared in July, 2011...
. Interpretation and description of the event varies according to source.
In 2000, the Lebanese militia Guardians of the Cedars
Guardians of the Cedars
The Guardians of the Cedars – GoC , also designated Gardiens du Cedre or Gardiens des Cèdres in French, are a far-right ultranationalist Lebanese party and former militia in Lebanon...
released a statement which included the following description of the event:
The people of the village of Dahr al_Wahch saw Syrian soldiers push a column of Lebanese prisoners who were walking in their shorts towards some unknown destination. A nun, a nurse at the governmental hospital of Baabda, saw the arrival of corpses and of the Red Cross ambulances. "I counted between 75 and 80, she explained. Most of them had a bullet in the back of their heads or in their mouth. The corpses still carried the mark of cords around their wrists." The rigidity of the corpses fixed their crossed arms behind their backs. They were naked, wearing only shorts. Some ten of them had their eyes gouged out, another ten had an arm or leg cut off. All had been shot in their heads. There can be no doubt about their execution. The Hraoui government announced that there had been no massacres.
Izzat Nweilati, in a paper published by the journal of the Syrian Human Rights Committee, describes the event as the result of a miscommunication, when Lebanese forces at Dahr al-Wahsh did not receive cease-fire orders from Michel Aoun
Michel Aoun
Michel Naim Aoun is a former Lebanese Army Commander and he is one of the allies of Hezbollah. From 22 September 1988 to 13 October 1990, he has served as Prime Minister of the legal one of two rival governments that contended for power. He declared "The Liberation War" against the Syrian...
and so attacked Syrian
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
troops who were crossing a landmine field. With 150 of their own killed, the Syrians retaliated against the Lebanese for deviating against the "rules of war". Newilati, who indicates that then Defense Minister of Lebanon Albert Mansour described the event as a "double massacre", states that the corpses he found a day after the event had been "shot in the head while their hands were tied to their backs", most unclothed.
Lebanese-born Walid Phares
Walid Phares
Walid Phares an American scholar of Lebanese origins, he is a professor and commentator on global terrorism and Middle Eastern affairs.Phares has testified before committees of the U.S. State, Justice, Defense and Homeland Security Departments, the United States Congress, the European Parliament,...
of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Foundation for Defense of Democracies
The Foundation for Defense of Democracies describes itself as a non-profit, non-partisan policy institute "working to defend free nations against their enemies". It was founded shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks to address what it regards as the "threat facing America, Israel and the...
posits that the Lebanese attacked the Syrians as a matter of choice, refusing to surrender to Syrian invasion. He describes the battle as an "illustrious episode" in "a short war with terrorism", following which the Syrians tortured and executed soldiers and civilians as an act of revenge.