1975–1990 Lebanese Civil War As the civil war escalated, Lebanese militias grew stronger and soon surpassed the regular army. This rapidly undermined the authority of the central government. The government's ability to maintain order was also handicapped by the nature of the Lebanese Army. One of the smallest in the
Middle East, it was composed based on a fixed ratio of religions. As members defected to sectarian militias, the army would eventually prove unable to contain the militant groups, rein in the
PLO or monitor foreign infiltration. Since the government was Christian-dominated, especially the officers' ranks, trust among Muslims for central institutions, including the army, was low. The disintegration of the Lebanese Army was eventually initiated by Muslim
deserters declaring that they would no longer take orders from the Maronite generals.
1991 Taif Agreement On 4 July 1991, following the failure of disarmament negotiations, as required by the
Taif Agreement, the Lebanese Army attacked Palestinian positions in Southern Lebanon. The offensive, involving 10,000 troops against an estimated 5,000 militia, lasted 3 days and ended with the Army taking all the Palestinian positions around
Sidon. In the agreement that followed all heavy weapons were surrendered and infantry weapons only allowed in the two refugee camps,
Ain al-Hilweh and
Mieh Mieh. 73 people were killed in the fighting, and 200 wounded, mostly Palestinian.
1999–2000 Dinnieh fighting During December 1999–January 2000, an Islamic group launched a failed uprising against the Lebanese authorities in the
Dinnieh district. In a period of 8 days of fighting in the snow-blanketed mountains east of the northern port of Tripoli, 14 soldiers and 25 rebels were killed.
2006 Lebanon War In the 2006 Lebanon War, the LAF did not engage in a direct conflict with the
Israeli Army, despite its threat of retaliation if the IDF pushed too far northward into Lebanon. However, Israel did bomb several Lebanese military bases. While providing aid to civilians, Lebanese troops helped to uphold order in city streets, directed refugees to safer areas, and assisted with overlooking damage done by Israeli attacks. but no damage was documented. Overall, 49 Lebanese soldiers were killed. After the 2006 Lebanon War, the LAF deployed south of the
Litani River for the first time since 1968 to enforce
Security Council Resolution 1701. The LAF says it will not, and cannot, disarm
Hezbollah by force. On August 3, 2010, the Lebanese army
fired at Israeli soldiers whose crane lifted a soldier across the border to remove a tree off the fence; Israeli troops returned fire. Three LAF soldiers, one Israeli officer and one Lebanese journalist were killed in the incident (after Israeli artillery & aircraft bombing). According to UN reports, there was no evidence that an Israeli soldier had entered Lebanese territory. The
UNIFIL force stationed in the south described the shootout as a "serious incident".
2007 North Lebanon conflict The 2007 Lebanon conflict began when fighting broke out between
Fatah al-Islam, an Islamic terrorist organization, and the Lebanese Armed Forces on May 20, 2007, in
Nahr al-Bared, a Palestinian refugee camp near
Tripoli. It has been the most severe internal fighting since Lebanon's 1975–90 civil war. The primary theater of conflict was the Siege of Nahr el-Bared. There was heavy use of Lebanese artillery in that area to eliminate snipers posted around the cities. The conflict finally ended on September 2, 2007, with the Lebanese Army taking control of the camp after more than three months of heavy fights and a death toll of 155 commandos and infantrymen. The LAF Engineering Corps achieved what was seen as a feat of ingenuity during the conflict where they converted a number of UH-1 helicopters into
bombers, arming them with 250 kg and 400 kg conventional bombs from old Hunter and Mirage III fighter jets. Some helicopters were also fitted with French Matra rocket pods. This was, according to observers, a decisive step that considerably shortened the conflict.
2008 clashes in Lebanon in Beirut, during the unrest of May 9, 2008. During the week-long clashes that occurred at the beginning of May 2008 in Beirut and other regions of the country, the army was unable to prevent rival Lebanese groups from fighting each other. This was because the army, along with the government, had thought it would have been better if rival groups would eventually end the violence and sort out the dispute between them alone, other than involving the national army which may have led to great divisions between the soldiers, just like in the civil war. It would have also caused an outcry from the soldiers who could have died, leading to even greater divisions and blame on the political forces. However, whenever ceasefire was brought into action in a specific area or district in Beirut or elsewhere in the country, the LAF would straight away enforce peace. On May 13, the national army announced that if the clashes would not end as soon as possible, it would have to intervene and use force if necessary to stop them.
2011–2017 Syrian Civil War spillover in Lebanon in 2011 Since the outbreak of conflict in Syria, the Lebanese Army has been deployed to prevent clashes from taking place in the city of
Tripoli, as well as in other hot zones such as
Beirut and
Arsal on the eastern borders. In 2014,
ISIS and
Al-Nusra Front established small bases and fortifications in the
Anti-Lebanon Mountains, where they operated against
Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army. On June 23, 2013, intense clashes in Sidon took place between followers of Salafist Sunni preacher Ahmad Al-Assir and Lebanese troops. Following these clashes, the Lebanese Army was sent in to capture Sheikh Assir's headquarters at Abra and apprehend him. Lebanese Army units fought against pro-Assir militants for two days in a battle that left at least 16 Lebanese soldiers dead and at least 50 wounded. Although the LAF managed to secure his complex, Assir was able to escape and was only captured on August 16, 2015, while trying to flee the country on a false passport. On August 2, 2014, following the arrest of an Al-Nusra Front commander Abu Ahmad Jumaa, militants from Al-Nusra and ISIS launched an
assault on the LAF in
Arsal and seized control of the town. By August 7, a fragile truce was established as ISIS and Al Nusra forces also retreated from the town and redeployed along the border with Syria. Their hideouts there were subsequently bombed by the
Syrian Air Force. Two days later, the Lebanese Army entered Arsal in full force and reestablished control over checkpoints that the militants had previously seized. On July 21, 2017, Hezbollah, the
Syrian Armed Forces and the Lebanese Army
launched a military operation against ISIS and
Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham positions on the
Lebanon–Syria border. The Lebanese army committed the
5th and
7th Infantry Brigades to the battle, and heavily shelled ISIS and HTS positions. By August 28, most of the around 2,100 militants surrendered to Hezbollah and the Syrian Army. In December 2024, following the lightning offensive in Syria by HTS that overthrew the regime of
Bashar al-Assad, the LAF sealed the Lebanon–Syria border.
2024 Lebanon War On 1 October 2024,
Israel invaded
Lebanon as part of the
2024 Lebanon War. The Lebanese Armed Forces did not enter in direct combat against
Israel Defense Forces, instead retreating to about five kilometres from Lebanon's southern border with Israel. On December 3, 2024, It was announced that the army will start recruitment for new soldiers for combat units. The process will continue up until January 3, 2025. On December 8, 2024 it was reported that the Lebanese Cabinet approved deployment of forces south of the Litani river. On January 7, 2025 units of the Lebanese army began to deploy in Southern Lebanon, following the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Ras Naqoura,
Aalma ash-Shaab,
Tayr Harfa in
Tyre,
Beit Lif in
Bint Jbeil, and other towns across the western and central sectors. This comes as part of coordinated efforts with the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the committee supervising the ceasefire agreement mechanism. ==See also==