Civil War
At the end of the 1960s, when factions within Lebanon started to form militias, the Frangieh clan formed the Marada Brigade, also known as the Zghorta Liberation Army, under the command of Tony Frangieh. The Marada mainly operated out of Tripoli and northern Lebanon, the base of the Frangieh family.
The Lebanese Civil War witnessed many shifting alliances where the allies of today became the enemies of tomorrow. One such falling out occurred between two of the leading Maronite clans, the Frangiehs and the Gemayels. The Frangiehs, who were close to Syria, were critical of Phalangist Kataeb Regulatory Forces' militia leader Bachir Gemayel's growing alliance with Israel. Militiamen from the Phalange RF and Marada also clashed over protection rackets.
This conflict led to the murder of Tony Frangieh, his wife, Vera (née el Kordahi), and his three-year old daughter Jihane by Phalangist militiamen, known as the Ehden massacre. His son, Suleiman II, was in Beirut during the murder. On the morning of 13 June 1978 at 4am, a Phalange RF 600-men squad led by Samir Geagea and Elie Hobeika attacked Tony Frangieh’s mansion in an attempt to eliminate the Frangieh Clan, Tony Frangieh was murdered after the assault. No official investigation was ever made to find out who killed the Frangieh family.
Suleiman Frangieh never vowed revenge. As he stated in a documentary on a Lebanese political channel called 'OTV', "That was the past and it must be forgotten, I do not seek revenge because God is the only judge, thus their conscience will haunt them for the rest of their lives."
Many commentators consider the murder of Tony Frangieh to be one of the factors in the longevity of the Lebanese Civil War and as the starting point of a deep divide between Lebanese Christians. Some 20,000 mourners attended his funeral, including then Lebanese Prime Minister Salim Hoss on 14 June 1978.
Read more about this topic: Tony Frangieh
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