Dinnieh clashes

Dinnieh fighting
Date 30 December 1999 - 6 January 2000 (1 week) Location Dinnieh district Status Lebanese Army victory
Belligerents
Lebanese Army	Takfir wa al-Hijra
Commanders and leaders
Francois al-Hajj	Bassam Ahmad 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. In January 2000 The Dinniyeh Group launched a failed attempt to create an Islamist mini-state in northern Lebanon.^[5] 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.^[5]

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.^[5] 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