SUMMARY

The Lebanese Army (Aoun) was a mainly Maronite part of the Lebanese regular forces under the command of General Michel Awn (a.k.a. Aoun). Aoun was the Maronite commander of the Lebanese army during the civil war and towards the end of the 1980s, following the resignation of President Gemayel, Aoun was appointed Prime Minister. The problem at this stage was that the Sunni Muslim Prime Minister, Selim Hoss, and his cabinet, who had previously resigned withdrew their resignation. This meant that Lebanon had two parallel governments: one headed by the mainly Christian Lebanese Army (Aoun) and the other by a Sunni Muslim (Hoss) Internationally the government led by Hoss came to be seen as having the most legitimacy; UCDP also treats the Hoss-led administration as the government of Lebanon.

The intra-Maronite fighting between the Lebaneses Forces and the Lebanese Army (Aoun) that took place in 1989 and 1990 severely damaged Aoun’s support amongst Christians in Lebanon. In October 1990 the Hoss government, backed by Syria, was able to crush the Lebanese Army under Aoun. Aoun himself fled to the French embassy and surrendered unconditionally.

The Lebanese Army (Aoun) has been involved in the intra-state and non-state categories of UCDP organised violence.