July 19th, 2005
Future for Lebanon
Timeline: Lebanon from 1920 to 2005
April 1920 With the end of World War I and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Allies give France a mandate over Greater Syria
Sept. 1, 1920 France divides Greater Syria into Syria and Lebanon
1926 Lebanon draws up its constitution, dividing power between major religious groups
1943 Lebanon gains independence from France, whose troops withdraw completely in 1946
1958 Civil war; U.S. sends troops
1967 Arab-Israeli War; Lebanon does not participate
1968 Israel raids Beirut International Airport
1975 Onset of Lebanon’s civil war
1976 Syrian forces enter Lebanon
1978 Israel invades Lebanon, withdrawing later that year
1982 Creation of Hezbollah
June 6, 1982 Israel invades Lebanon again
April 18, 1983 Truck bomb destroys U.S. Embassy in Beirut (63 dead)
Oct. 23, 1983 Truck bombs explode in U.S. Marine and French Paratrooper barracks (298 dead).
1989 Arab League-sponsored Taif Agreement, brokered in Saudi Arabia, leads to end of civil war and reinforces Syria’s direct role in Lebanese affairs
1990 After more than 100,000 deaths, civil war finally ends
2000 Israel withdraws troops from southern Lebanon
2004 U.N. Security Council passes Resolution 1559, calling for the withdrawal of all remaining foreign forces from Lebanon and the disarmament of the Hezbollah militia
Feb. 14, 2005 Anti-Syrian prime minister, Rafik Hariri, is assassinated by a car bomb
Feb. 21, 2005 Tens of thousands rally at the site of Hariri’s assassination, calling for an end to the Syrian occupation
March 8, 2005 Half a million demonstrate in Beirut in favor of Syria
March 14, 2005 Approximately one million demonstrate in Beirut in favor of Lebanese independence
April 2005 Syrian troops withdraw from Lebanon

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