Karantina Massacre

The Karantina Massacre took place during the Lebanese Civil War on January 18, 1976.

Karantina was a strategically situated slum district in Beirut controlled by forces from the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), but inhabited mainly by Kurds and Armenians, as well as some Lebanese and Palestinian Muslims. Karantina was overrun by Christian militias with Syrian backing, and a large number of civilians massacred. The fighting and subsequent killings also involved the nearby Maslakh quarter. The massacre is often cited as a motive behind the Palestinian-led massacres in Damour, and together, the two atrocities prompted many Muslims and Christians to flee their home areas in Beirut to relocate in areas held by their own sects. This contributed to the division of the Lebanese capital into East (Christian) and West (Muslim) Beirut.

Estimations of the numbers of victims:

* Lebanese Civil War January 18, 1976 Saturday Karantina massacre More than 1000 civilians were massacred.
* Harris (p. 162) notes "the massacre of 1,500 Palestinians, Shi'is, and others in Karantina and Maslakh, and the revenge killings of hundreds of Christians in Damur".
* This page gives the number of victims as "more than 1000 civilians".
* This page says that "up to 1000 were killed" and also notes the connection to Damour.

Literature

* William Harris, Faces of Lebanon. Sects, Wars, and Global Extensions (Markus Wiener Publishers, Princeton, USA 1996)