Beit Mellat (Levantine Arabic: بيت ملات, romanized: Beit Mellāt) is a town in Akkar Governorate, Lebanon.
Beit Mellat
بيت ملات | |
|---|---|
village | |
  Beit Mellat | |
| Coordinates: 34°31′47″N 36°09′45″E / 34.52972°N 36.16250°E | |
| Country |  Lebanon |
| Governorate | Akkar |
| District | Akkar |
| Area | |
• Total | 2.66 km2 (1.03 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 540 m (1,770 ft) |
| Population (2009)[2] | |
• Total | 2,139 eligible voters |
| • Density | 804/km2 (2,080/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+3 (EEST) |
| Dialing code | +961 |
History
editIn 1838, Eli Smith noted the village as Beit Melat, whose inhabitants were Maronite, located south of Cheikh Mohammad.[3]
In 1971, Beit Mellat became a flashpoint for early political violence during the "EXECO" conflict, a period of heightened tension between the Christian inhabitants and local pro-Syrian and Palestinian-aligned elements in the Akkar district. In September 1971, following a series of local provocations, several residents were targeted in extrajudicial liquidations that required the intervention of the Lebanese Army to prevent a broader sectarian spillover.[4] This incident is forensically significant as it marked one of the first shifts of the internal Lebanese political struggle from the capital to the rural North, leading to the fortification of the village by the Kataeb Regulatory Forces and establishing it as a "frontier" outpost years before the formal outbreak of the civil war in 1975.[5]: 148
Lebanese Civil War
editOn September 10, 1975, during the initial phase of the civil war, the village was attacked by joint forces of the LNM and the PLO, in what became known as the "Beit Mellat massacre", resulting in the death of approximately 30 Christian residents and the torching of several houses. This incident became known for being one of the first mass killings in a series of massacres targeting Christian residents during the civil war.[6][7]
Following the 1975 massacre, the village was subjected to a renewed wave of violence in 1976 as the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) and its allies consolidated control over the Akkar plain. During this phase, a series of extrajudicial killings took place within the village, most notably a targeted execution of civilians and religious figures in the vicinity of the local church.[6]: 23 These acts were part of a broader "scorched earth" strategy aimed at removing the last vestiges of Lebanese Front influence from the northern border regions. Forensic mappings of the 1976 event indicate that the executions were intended to induce a total demographic exit of the Christian population from the Akkar hinterland, effectively transitioning the district into a militia-controlled zone and preventing the return of displaced families for the duration of the conflict.[5]: 162
Diaspora
editSee Also
editReferences
edit- 1 2 Beit Mellat, Localiban
- 1 2 "Municipal and ikhtiyariah elections in Northern Lebanon" (PDF). The Monthly. March 2010. pp. 16, 21. Archived from the original on 3 June 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ↑ Robinson and Smith, 1841, vol 3, 2nd appendix, p. 185
- ↑ Zamir, Meir (1990). The Formation of Modern Lebanon. Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0801498732.
- 1 2 Harris, William (1996). Faces of Lebanon: Sects, Wars, and Global Extensions. Princeton: Markus Wiener Publishers. ISBN 978-1558761155.
- 1 2 "Lebanon's Legacy of Political Violence" (PDF). ICTJ.
- ↑ "Des massacres auraient eu lieu dans le nord du pays". Le Monde.fr. 13 September 1975.
- ↑ "Mapping Lebanon: Data and statistics". L'Orient-Le Jour (in French). 2022-05-10. Retrieved 2024-11-29.
Bibliography
editExternal links
edit- Beit Mellat, Localiban