Dinnieh clashes

Dinnieh fighting
Date30 December 1999 - 6 January 2000 (1 week)
LocationDinnieh district
Status Lebanese Army victory
Belligerents
Lebanon Lebanese Army Takfir wa al-Hijra
Commanders and leaders
Francois al-Hajj Bassam Kanj
Strength
13,000 200-300
Casualties and losses
12 killed[1] 25 killed
55 captured

The Dinnieh fighting (30 December 1999-6 January 2000) involved the Islamist group Takfir wa al-Hijra and the Lebanese Army fighting for eight days[1] in the mountainous Dinnieh region, east of the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli.

Over a period of several days, an estimated 13,000 Lebanese army troops backed by tanks and artillery swiftly defeated the group of 200-300 rebels, driving isolated bands of surviving guerrillas into remote areas of north Lebanon. The Lebanese army reported a total of 12 soldiers killed in action, while 25 rebels were killed and 55 captured.[2][3][4]

Group

The Dinniyeh Group was a group of 200-300 Islamist militants led by Bassam Ahmad Kanj. Kanj was a close associate of Raed Hijazi who had recently been indicted for his involvement in the millennium bombing plots in Jordan.[5]

Attack

Starting at the close of December 1999, The Dinniyeh Group launched an attempt to create an Islamist mini-state in northern Lebanon.[6] The militants seized control of dozens of villages in the mountainous Dinniyeh district, east of Tripoli before being defeated by a force of 13,000 Lebanese soldiers in several days of intense combat.[6]

Aftermath

After the fighting members of The Dinniyeh Group who were not killed or captured fled to Ain al-Hilweh. According to court documents from judicial proceedings against captured members, the group had received financial support from associates of Osama bin Laden through bank accounts in Beirut and north Lebanon.[6] In 2005, members of the group were released by a parliamentary resolution after the 2005 elections which also pardoned the most powerful anti-Syrian Christian leader Samir Geagea.

References

  1. 1 2 "Bin Laden's Network in Lebanon" (September 2001) Archived 2008-05-22 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ LEBANON - The Limited Scope For Sunni Militancy. - APS Diplomat Redrawing the Islamic Map | Encyclopedia.com
  3. ↑ "Syrian, Lebanese Security Forces Crush Sunni Islamist Opposition" (January 2000) Archived 2009-01-04 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ Al-Ahram Weekly | Region | Islamists on a rampage in Lebanon Archived 2008-12-16 at the Wayback Machine.
  5. ↑ Rabil, R. (2011). Religion, National Identity, and Confessional Politics in Lebanon: The Challenge of Islamism. Springer. p. 192. ISBN 9780230339255.
  6. 1 2 3 Ain al-Hilweh: Lebanon's "Zone of Unlaw" (June 2003) Archived 2006-08-13 at the Wayback Machine.


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