The Chekka massacre (Arabic: مجزرة شكا) occurred on July 5, 1976, when Palestinian and Lebanese National Movement fighters killed roughly 200 people in the Christian towns of Chekka and Hamat during the Lebanese Civil War.
| Chekka massacre | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Lebanese Civil War | |
| Location | Chekka and Hamat, Lebanon |
| Date | July 5, 1976 |
| Deaths | ~200 |
| Perpetrators | Left-wing and Palestinian movements |
| Motive | Takeover of rightist Christian regions |
The attack was launched from Tripoli by Palestinian militants and members of an Islamist group called Jund Allah. The group stormed the Syrian Social Nationalist Party strongholds of Chekka as well as Hamat. An estimated 200 people were killed in the ensuing 24 hours. Palestinians and LNM fighters destroyed and looted houses as they stabbed residents to death with knives and bayonets.[1] Residents tried to flee through a tunnel to Batroun but the attackers blocked the exit. Many were killed as their cars caught fire, and they suffocated to death.[2]
Around 200 civilians were killed.[3] 4,200 people were living in the town at the time, meaning that approximately over 4% of Chekka's population at the time.[4] Chekka and Hamat were later recaptured by right-wing Christian paramilitaries with the help of the Lebanese army , as well as several other towns that had been taken during the LNM's offensive. A book depicting the event 'شكا قضية بحد ذاتها' was written by Georges Sarkis, a local politician.[5][6]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Jureidini, Paul A.; McLaurin, R. D.; Price, James M. (1979-06-01). "Military Operations in Selected Lebanese Built-Up Areas, 1975 - 1978".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ ictj (2014-07-29). "Attack on Chekka and Hamat". Civil Society Knowledge Centre. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
- ^ "The historiography and the memory of the Lebanese civil war | Sciences Po Violence de masse et Résistance - Réseau de recherche". www.sciencespo.fr (in French). Retrieved 2022-05-08.
- ^ Hagerdal, Nils (2016-05-12). "Ethnic Cleansing as Military Strategy: Lessons From Lebanon, 1975-1990". dash.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
- ^ "Christians in Northern Lebanon Report Repulse of Leftist Attack". The New York Times. 1976-07-07. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
- ^ "CHRISTIANS PRESS FIGHT IN LEBANON". The New York Times. 1976-07-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-05-08.