Lebanon: A History of Conflict

Some facts and figures on Lebanon:

The Land--Lebanon lies in the eastern Mediterranean and covers 4,034 square miles. From a narrow coastal strip, the land rises steeply into the Mt. Lebanon range, 9,000 feet at its highest.

The People--Muslims make up around 55% of the estimated 3 million population, and Christians about 45%. Lebanon has 17 religious sects, with the biggest the million-strong Shia Muslims. The country’s makeup, which has contributed to much of Lebanon’s sectarian bloodshed, reflects the waves of people who fled persecution and took refuge in the rugged mountains through the centuries. About 500,000 Palestinian refugees live in Lebanon.

The Economy--Lebanon has no natural resources, so the people since ancient times have turned to commerce. The most prominent were the Phoenicians. Before the civil war began in 1975, Lebanon was the financial center of the Middle East and a major tourist center. But 13 years of civil conflict have gutted the economy.

History--Some Lebanese claim descent from the Phoenicians, who lived in the area 6,000 years ago. The Assyrians, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, Mamelukes and Arabs all have ruled what is now Lebanon until it fell under the Ottoman Empire in the 16th Century. Ottoman rule ended with World War I. Lebanon was put under a French mandate until independence in 1943. The Christians dominated, but Muslim demands for political reforms helped trigger civil war in 1975. An estimated 150,000 people have been killed in the fighting and in intervention by Syrian, Israeli and U.S. forces. The war has dismembered Lebanon into sectarian cantons, as well as sectors controlled by Syria and Israel, leaving it a country in name only.