The late Syrian Vice President, Mr. Abdul-Halim Khaddam, published in the Thursday edition of April 29, 2021, by the Saudi newspaper Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, details about the Fathallah Barracks massacre committed by the Syrian army against Hezbollah members who were gathered in the Jazeera building near the famous party’s barracks in Beirut, and in the Mamoun Street connecting the area of Burj Abi Haidar with the Basta Al-Fawqa line.
The significance of this tragic incident, according to Abu Jamal’s papers, lies in shedding light on how Hafez al-Assad dealt with his strategic ally, Iran, which was described as a friendly alliance in every sense of the word. Moreover, al-Assad, the father, used to emphasize on every occasion and through every incident that he was the one with the first word in Lebanon. Meanwhile, Iran, during the era of his successor, Bashar, proves that it is not only the one with the first word in Lebanon but also in Syria.
Therefore, it becomes of great importance to examine this massacre, its details, and, prior to that, to explain the reasons for the return of the Syrian army to Beirut and various areas in Lebanon.
Before that, the entry was paved with justifications of blood, tears, and terror through almost daily clashes in the working-class neighborhoods of West Beirut, predominantly Muslim, between the two allies who had sworn their alliance in blood and the violations, attacks, feuds, and thugs. These two allies are the Amal Movement and the Progressive Socialist Party, which are supposed to be allies to the Assad regime in Syria… This is one side.
The more dangerous side is that these clashes occurred within the context of the Syrian-Palestinian conflict in Beirut and Yasser Arafat’s determination to return to Beirut and then to Lebanon after his forces and political, media, and social powers were forced to leave Lebanon following the Zionist invasion in the summer of 1982. In this context, the Camps War erupted, managed by the Amal Movement on orders from the Assad intelligence to prevent Arafat’s forces from regaining influence (during the years 1985-86-87).
The wars of the blood-sworn allies terrified the Lebanese, especially the people of Beirut and their leaders. This led them, led by the oppressed Mufti Sheikh Hassan Khalid, to go to Damascus and meet with Vice President Khaddam in his office to ask him to send his forces to separate your thugs (the strong Mufti used this term exactly to say that the conflict destroying Beirut is a conflict of a Syrian group). Here, Khaddam said to the Mufti:
“O Sheikh Hassan, I cannot trust the guards at my door, and you want me to send my forces to Lebanon?!?!”
At that moment, the Mufti said with irritation, “Then give me someone you can trust to guard them.” Khaddam then arranged for the Mufti to meet with Hafez al-Assad. Syria’s ruler listened to something he was not accustomed to hearing from anyone. The Mufti said to him:
“Mr. President, the fighters in Beirut have turned the lives of Beirut’s people into hell, and they are all from your groups. Have mercy on the people of Beirut from these thugs.” (Perhaps this frankness from Mufti Hassan Khalid is what led to his killing in Beirut after exactly two years and three months.)
The Fatah Allah Barracks Massacre
Hafez al-Assad sent his army back to Lebanon after ensuring the military or political presence of Yasser Arafat in Lebanon. The Zionist enemy withdrew from most of the territories it had occupied in 1982 under the blows of the resistance established by Hezbollah to expel the enemy from Lebanon, which was completed on May 24, 2000. Only the Shebaa Farms, the hills of Kafr Shuba, and parts of the town of Ghajar remained.
The forces, led by then-Colonel Ghazi Kanaan, a tough and intelligent loyalist to Assad, received a direct instruction from him before heading to Beirut. Assad said to him literally, “Abu Yarub, I want to see Beirut like Damascus completely.”
This was the directive that Kanaan applied in Beirut from the moment he entered on February 21, 1987. He roamed the streets of Beirut in a military vehicle, carrying a loudspeaker, warning of the presence of any armed individuals in the streets, threatening to shoot anyone carrying a weapon.
Abu Yarub did indeed carry out his threat, as his forces dealt with any armed person according to his orders. They killed more than forty militants without encountering any resistance; merely carrying a weapon was sufficient to be targeted.
Why the Fatah Allah Barracks?
The massacre committed by the Syrian army in the Burj Abi Haidar area preceded the incident that still casts its shadow to this day. In Syria’s pursuit of controlling security in Beirut, elements of the Internal Security Forces in Lebanon set up a checkpoint at the crossroads between the barracks and the Basta police station, considered by the barracks’ official Mustafa Shhada as a provocation. He and his elements proceeded to burn cars in the patrol, and when the officer sought help from the Syrian security, they rushed to assist the Internal Security Forces.
What happened?
Shhada, a former official in the Amal Movement with a volatile temperament, heard threatening words from a Syrian officer with the rank of major. Consequently, he ordered his elements to surround the Syrian rescue, attacked them, confiscated their weapons, and forced them to kneel and crawl.
Eyewitnesses at the time claim that Mustafa Shhada placed his weapon at the temple of the Syrian major and compelled him to extend his tongue, intending to pull it out. This incident marked the beginning of a catastrophe, as Kanaan issued a firm order to his forces to attack the barracks and eliminate everyone inside, stating unequivocally:
“I don’t want any wounded or prisoners.”
The attack began by cutting off electricity to the area, and Hezbollah members were in a building near it, known as the Jazeera Building. Soldiers under Ghazi Kanaan’s command attacked them without warning or notice, immediately opening fire with the intent to kill. Kanaan had given clear instructions:
“No prisoners, no wounded…”
They killed 23 members of Hezbollah, with only one surviving. Their leader, Mustafa Shhada, managed to escape. It is said that he was the one who attempted to assassinate Kanaan during his tour in the southern suburbs of Beirut.
We write what was not mentioned in the memoirs of Professor Abdul Hakeem Khaddam and call for following the dialogue of the man with the Iranian ambassador in Damascus, Sheikh Hassan Akhtari, in the issue published on Thursday, April 29, 2021, to understand the nature of the Syrian-Iranian relationship at that time.
