Beirut 1985: The War of the Camps and the Shia Awakening

In 1985, as Lebanon's civil war entered its second decade, a new and brutal chapter unfolded in Beirut's southern suburbs and around the Palestinian refugee camps. The War of the Camps pitted the Shiite Amal movement, backed by Syria, against the Palestinian factions that had once been allies. For nearly two years, the camps of Sabra, Shatila, and Bourj al-Barajneh were besieged, starved, and shelled. This episode follows the rise of Nabih Berri and Amal, the shifting alliances of the Lebanese National Movement, the role of Hezbollah's emerging force, and the devastating human cost of internecine conflict. We explore how the war reshaped Shiite political identity, fractured the Palestinian resistance, and set the stage for the Taif Agreement. Drawing on firsthand accounts, we examine the siege tactics, the role of the Syrian Army under Hafez al-Assad, and the failed mediation of the Arab League. This is the story of a conflict within a conflict — one that often gets overshadowed by the larger civil war but left deep scars on Lebanon's communal memory.

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