The War of Liberation

From March 1989 to October 1990, Lebanese army forces loyal to Michel Aoun fought the War of Liberation against Syrian forces in Beirut. As Aoun's forces were based in East Beirut and Syria's forces in West Beirut, the fighting resulted in a Syrian seige of East Beirut and heavy shelling of residential areas on both sides of the city. Approximately 500 persons were killed in the process. This resulted in Syria launching an attack on the Presidential Palace in Baabda in October 1990, causing Aoun to seek refuge in the French Embassy and later go into exile in France from 1991 to 2005.