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A nun inspects a damaged room in the Hotel Dieu Hospital in east Beirut on February 25, 1990, after a break in the battle between rival Christian factions. AFP
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Smoke rises in a Beirut street during clashes between Palestinians and members of Christian militia the Lebanese Forces, backed by Lebanon's Christian Kataeb Phalangist party, on April 15, 1975. AFP
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Guerrilla fighters on a tank in a street in Beirut during Lebanon's civil war, in December 1975. Getty Images
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A Katyusha rocket is fired from the back of an army lorry into an apartment complex during the first year of the Lebanese civil war, in 1975. Getty Images
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A mass of burnt vehicles in the harbour area of Beirut after the outbreak of civil war in 1975. Getty Images
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A Red Cross nurse from Sweden takes care of a boy shot in the heel by a sniper, on September 9, 1976, at a hospital in the Coral Beach Hotel, on the road between Beirut and Saida. AFP
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Israeli shelling on west Beirut on August 2, 1982. AFP
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A man sits on rubble in a desolated area of west Beirut on August 20, 1982. AFP
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The US embassy in Beirut on April 18, 1983, after a bomb destroyed part of the building. AFP
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French soldiers watch the skyline in Beirut on September 26, 1983. The troops were part of the Beirut security multinational force sent to keep security after the Israeli invasion of 1982. AFP
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General Francois Cann, commander of the French troops of the multinational forces, on October 23, 1983, as rescuers search for survivors in Beirut through the rubble of a building that was destroyed by a suicide lorry bomber overnight. Fifty-eight French soldiers and five Lebanese were killed in the attack. AFP
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Rescuers continue to search on October 31, 1983, for corpses and identify the victims of the attack on October 23 on the headquarters of US troops from the multinational force in Beirut. AFP
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Rescuers search for victims on March 8, 1985, 15 minutes after a car, packed with an estimated 250kg of TNT, exploded in a crowded street of the southern Bir Al Aabed district in mainly Shiite southern suburb of Beirut. At least 75 people were killed and 256 injured in the explosion. AFP
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Israeli Defence Force soldiers on March 19, 1985, confront a civilian at Kasmyah bridge after troops the month before evacuated about 500 sq km around Saida. AFP
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Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, on October 4, 1985, after a ceasefire between pro-Palestine and pro-Syrian militias was agreed to in Damascus. AFP
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A woman cries in shock, minutes after a car bomb exploded in a crowded neighbourhood of mainly-Muslim west Beirut on August 8, 1986, killing 13 people, including three children, and wounding at least 92. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/ZQI5E67TFFN2V5IADOE34SWSFI.jpg?smart=true&auth=b9188cf1394f947a05c8c76366a873abb1bd7772623e59ad2a09113ffe47b77b&width=400&height=225)
A nun inspects a damaged room in the Hotel Dieu Hospital in east Beirut on February 25, 1990, after a break in the battle between rival Christian factions. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NT67NUAX73SQSMWFRK4OQCZSCE.jpg?smart=true&auth=fc23321c8abd0c2b32847ff3c023065648c61c7a86861dcd411cfef8d72ffdcc&width=400&height=225)
Smoke rises in a Beirut street during clashes between Palestinians and members of Christian militia the Lebanese Forces, backed by Lebanon's Christian Kataeb Phalangist party, on April 15, 1975. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/L5JQ3AMZLOW3K6YYPRVBTNNGJI.jpg?smart=true&auth=5ff4fe4f77f5e61c9da429d6bebeb7ff57c5f976afbb980b19fe3dd872e95ab4&width=400&height=225)
Guerrilla fighters on a tank in a street in Beirut during Lebanon's civil war, in December 1975. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/E4UB5CPZ5BQTYJ2N7LTOUGOKJA.jpg?smart=true&auth=bc21fcd9e2bf9f125eaf2e4c2cbf37673199b52b8a36ba3d0439c7e2d9feb5cc&width=400&height=225)
A Katyusha rocket is fired from the back of an army lorry into an apartment complex during the first year of the Lebanese civil war, in 1975. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/XMNQL6KP2JY5CN7562JLHDCGEU.jpg?smart=true&auth=a6d9ff7f74eb5e0a644a723a8ccf63b7f51c526772a7b6e351c4e4324b178634&width=400&height=225)
A mass of burnt vehicles in the harbour area of Beirut after the outbreak of civil war in 1975. Getty Images
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/IULVBV6KWH2UQSPLVL7WKMQMM4.jpg?smart=true&auth=517a5c225ccabaf67e54cdb9cddef2ef493153803595fbeda57516640eb81918&width=400&height=225)
A Red Cross nurse from Sweden takes care of a boy shot in the heel by a sniper, on September 9, 1976, at a hospital in the Coral Beach Hotel, on the road between Beirut and Saida. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/6Y2QPA3FJGA25R2QHFNM6ITKKE.jpg?smart=true&auth=be8c8454340fd33cfc1575888b97d5ab7e85eab7d6f46aff8a073d3bd510cc84&width=400&height=225)
Israeli shelling on west Beirut on August 2, 1982. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/PRVBEQLU3MQBDVRHMLSZRWI4IM.jpg?smart=true&auth=a909c5a932d2c3dc4bd928b7b0c5fcc1b76c712e372ed25db80da6118846d79c&width=400&height=225)
A man sits on rubble in a desolated area of west Beirut on August 20, 1982. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/4CE3VA74QUV6273TZMTHPHNO4M.jpg?smart=true&auth=2838135488cd5b1231d317444b4dc93ccaa8750cb4f8a5a14543ad844c5295c5&width=400&height=225)
The US embassy in Beirut on April 18, 1983, after a bomb destroyed part of the building. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/C6XF64DT276VUSGFH7BFWNCF2I.jpg?smart=true&auth=441ca9aa32c3c90080c414556b34129f8b81f88a9c7edeace1f7c9358e478f25&width=400&height=225)
French soldiers watch the skyline in Beirut on September 26, 1983. The troops were part of the Beirut security multinational force sent to keep security after the Israeli invasion of 1982. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/YUL7EAFOQTDDWLURWE2IIWS72E.jpg?smart=true&auth=1097ba96422f79fa3a3d0666b4708a0d93520db525cef65ee8a380aea5a9af72&width=400&height=225)
General Francois Cann, commander of the French troops of the multinational forces, on October 23, 1983, as rescuers search for survivors in Beirut through the rubble of a building that was destroyed by a suicide lorry bomber overnight. Fifty-eight French soldiers and five Lebanese were killed in the attack. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/QIOXH7SB747TMTK74V2M3YIJVY.jpg?smart=true&auth=1ec65e9cde64cb15c4d6234adf80ad4c0e93cb80ea8314cca43b14328ecc9892&width=400&height=225)
Rescuers continue to search on October 31, 1983, for corpses and identify the victims of the attack on October 23 on the headquarters of US troops from the multinational force in Beirut. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/NYIOV6GDUC6KO4BL75KYX2BYRE.jpg?smart=true&auth=ab7832813e0b14ef49beb647855b7a26d7176cef392e6adf868e5c7ad9a04a5e&width=400&height=225)
Rescuers search for victims on March 8, 1985, 15 minutes after a car, packed with an estimated 250kg of TNT, exploded in a crowded street of the southern Bir Al Aabed district in mainly Shiite southern suburb of Beirut. At least 75 people were killed and 256 injured in the explosion. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/YJPC64URD2VU3JQA32AQD23RNU.jpg?smart=true&auth=ab1a9bbe26fe0cf5dc76a19b8bcb06f068538259fd21bbd6de0d3119793ad1b1&width=400&height=225)
Israeli Defence Force soldiers on March 19, 1985, confront a civilian at Kasmyah bridge after troops the month before evacuated about 500 sq km around Saida. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/RE7DMB4YKHS7QLMQTSKGJALEKQ.jpg?smart=true&auth=e698da803432c6de6e0e80dd6e7c4a54f61dfaf09c4057b3673c1c22d5df5c2e&width=400&height=225)
Tripoli, in northern Lebanon, on October 4, 1985, after a ceasefire between pro-Palestine and pro-Syrian militias was agreed to in Damascus. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/VXWKS7HHQZHUVVQ7SUFI4BFTNA.jpg?smart=true&auth=bb009ad301f7d09e3783795a2d5c0acd0ecee83dc12caa331c864126cc8bc296&width=400&height=225)
A woman cries in shock, minutes after a car bomb exploded in a crowded neighbourhood of mainly-Muslim west Beirut on August 8, 1986, killing 13 people, including three children, and wounding at least 92. AFP
![](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/ZQI5E67TFFN2V5IADOE34SWSFI.jpg?smart=true&auth=b9188cf1394f947a05c8c76366a873abb1bd7772623e59ad2a09113ffe47b77b&width=400&height=225)
A nun inspects a damaged room in the Hotel Dieu Hospital in east Beirut on February 25, 1990, after a break in the battle between rival Christian factions. AFP
Lebanon: MPs step up calls for clarity over fate of Lebanese missing in Syrian jails
Hundreds of Lebanese are thought to have been forcibly disappeared in Syria many years ago
![Jamie Prentis](https://thenational-the-national-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Farc-authors%2Fthenational%2F7e8731e9-4925-4121-9565-fee2525fc1c6.png?smart=true&auth=8c028507ec53318d49d5123c5dc965135b9b7aea1a6d3ffd9ccacfb39b6f8f40&width=70&height=70)
Jamie Prentis
28 August, 2023
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