Meantime, President Amine Gemayel, supported by France, was pleading with both the Syrians and Americans to extend his term by one year or more until agreement over another candidate was reached, but to no avail. On the night of September 22/23, 1988, a few hours before the expiry of his term and in accordance with Article 53 of the Lebanese Constitution, President Gemayel nominated the Lebanese Army Commander, General Michel Aoun, for the office of Prime Minister and appointed members of the Military Council as ministers in the government until the election of a new President. However, all three Sunni officers/ministers resigned from their posts, thus dividing Lebanon into a Christian government led by Aoun and a Muslim one led by the then acting PM Salim El-Hoss.

Wars of Liberation and Elimination

Later, on March 14, 1989, General Michel Aoun declared the War of Liberation against the Syrian occupation. The fight was ignited on all fronts in Beirut and Mount Lebanon between the pro-Aoun Lebanese Army and the Syrian forces and the militias supporting them. In the beginning of 1990, war broke out between the Lebanese Forces and the Lebanese Army on grounds of the former’s support of the Taef Accord. Aoun displayed staunch opposition to the war, which wreaked untold havoc in Christian areas and resulted in the death of hundreds of victims. These confrontations weakened Aoun’s army units, but the international red lines set at the time impeded the entry of Syrian forces into the areas he controlled.

Iraq’s Invasion of Kuwait

Later, Lebanese deputies approved the Taef Accord and MP Elias Hrawi was elected President of the Republic while Aoun remained in the Baabda Palace and proclaimed himself as legitimate Prime Minister. Meantime, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ordered the invasion of Kuwait on August 1, 1990. In response, the US secured the backing of the UN Security Council to form a coalition of both Arab and foreign forces in order to kick Saddam out of Kuwait. Syria joined the coalition under the command of Hafez Assad, thus granting itself a pretense and an opportunity to advance towards regions controlled by Aoun’s forces, although the move was justified by other reasons and compromises that remained under the table. At that point, Aoun realized that his stay in Baabda was nearing its end and made his popular statement: “The world can crush me but can never force me to sign.” Indeed, all local, regional and international attempts failed at brokering a solution with Aoun and only drove him to assume a more intransigent and rigid position.

Although heedful of the military potential of his adversaries and their capacity to break into his zone of power, mainly the Baabda Palace, Aoun was equally aware that a military action was out of question since France would not allow Lebanon to fall under the Syrian occupation, a reward that the US has promised to President Assad for his participation in the liberation of Kuwait.

Therefore, all field reports on the positioning of forces and mobilization of masses failed to intimidate Aoun or soften his position, especially amid French guarantees ruling out the possibility of a military option.

Invasion according to President Elias Hrawi

In his book Restoration of the Republic: From Sub-states to State, former President Elias Hrawi describes the preparations setting path for the elimination of the “Aoun phenomenon” as follows:

“The Cabinet convened on August 1990 in the absence of Minister Walid Jumblat who was outside the country and decided to put an end to the armed mutiny. To this end, a military plan was devised jointly with the Syrians in order to submit it to the Cabinet on its next session.

On October 9, 1990, the Cabinet held a session aimed at taking action to stamp down the Christian leader’s rebellion. Syrian President Hafez Assad endorsed the move and requested that Lebanon authenticates his call for the Syrian support in this mission in an official letter. The session lasted four and a half hours, at the end of which PM Salim Hoss refrained from bearing responsibility for potential bloodshed and refused to follow through.

However, the Cabinet adhered to its intention to intervene militarily to curb the Aoun-led rebellion and urged the Syrian forces present in Lebanon to assist the Lebanese Army in the execution of this mission in order to restore the state sovereignty over its territory. The President of the Republic was assigned to relay the content of the Cabinet decision to the Higher Syrian command.”

President Hrawi was notified through Ghazi Kana’an that the Syrian Command had scheduled an attack against Baabda Palace and the areas that Aoun controlled on Saturday, 13th of October, at 6:00 am. Meantime, covert negotiations were brewing between pro-Aoun officers and Syrian officers, which mistakenly reassured the Christian leader that there was no attack planned.

As no action was made by 6 am, President Hrawi called Army Commander Emile Lahoud, and learned from him that everything was moving as promised and the attack would be launched in an hour as per Syria’s timing.

Military Operation

At 7:00 am, Beirut time, the Syrian Forces began their air raids on the Baabda Palace, while land units were advancing in the same direction, reaching their target destination by noon. Meantime, General Michel fled with a number of his assistants seeking refuge at the French Embassy in Hazmieh. Although he called on his forces to abide by the commands of General Emile Lahoud, many units refused to quit fighting and heinous battles and massacres occurred in several areas like Dahr Wahsh, Souk el-Gharb,Bsous and Deir el-Qalaa claiming the lives of dozens of Lebanese officers. The attack ended with the Syrian Forces detaining hundreds of Lebanese military members and tightening their grip on areas controlled by Aoun in particular, and Lebanon at large. The sight of Syrian troops sweeping over the Presidential Palace in Baabda was perhaps the most symbolic depiction of Syria’s absolute occupation of Lebanon at the time.

And so, after 57 days at the Baabda Palace, Aoun spent another 320 days at the French Embassy before he was sent to exile in France until May 7, 2005.