Dahieh

Dahieh (Arabic: الضاحية الجنوبية‎ al-Janubiya, French: Banlieue Sud de Beyrouth, Dâhiye de Beyrouth, meaning "the southern suburb") is a predominantly Shia Muslim suburb composed of several towns and municipalities south of Beirut, located in the Baabda District of Lebanon. There is also a minority of coexisting Sunni Muslims, and a Palestinian refugee camp which has 20,000 inhabitants. It is located north of the Rafic Hariri International Airport, with the M51 Freeway that links Beirut to the Airport passing through it. Prior to the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, Dahieh was a residential and commercial area with malls, stores and souks.

A crater in Dahieh Al Janubiya, photographed in 2008, two years after the Second Lebanon War of 2006.

Dahieh is the Beirut stronghold of the Shi'ite Islamist group, Hezbollah, and it had large auditoria in Haret Hreik, Hadeth, Beirut and Bourj al-Barajne where Hezbollah followers gathered during special occasions.

2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict

Hezbollah's television station, Al-Manar, was targeted in the area.

Hours after the August 14, 2006 ceasefire, Hezbollah pledged to reconstruct houses for the dwellers of Dahieh, and it offered rent money for the time-being as attempt to build better houses condenses.

On September 22, 2006, Hezbollah's leader Hassan Nasrallah attended a mass rally in Dahieh declaring a "Divine Victory" against Israel. Apart from mentioning Hezbollah having 20,000 rockets at its disposal, he also went on to criticize Lebanon's central government, stating it should step down and form a unity government.

According to the Hezbollah's "Jihad al-Bina' " association for the reconstruction, the reconstruction of Dahieh should begin from 25 May 2007, the day of the annual party of the 2000 Israeli pullout from Lebanon.

Demographics

Religion in the Dahieh (Excluding Palestinian Refugees)

  Shia Islam (85%)
  Maronite Christianity (10%)
  Sunni Islam (4%)
  Other (1%)

Dahieh is home to one of the most densely populated communities in Lebanon, and host a population of about 450,000 people. Dahieh also hosts large Palestinian Refugee Camps, when those are included, the population rises to about 700,000 people. These Palestinian Refugee camps have seen a rise in population ever since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, holding many other ethnicities than Palestinian, most notably Syrians and Kurds.

Most of the people living in Dahieh are Lebanese from the South of Lebanon who have taken refuge during the Israeli occupation period. The number of Shiites that are native to Dahye number at around 30,000, considerably lower than the current number of almost 400,000. In fact, there are more Christians native to Dahieh than Shiites.

Terrorist attacks

On July 9, 2013, 53 people were wounded after a bomb exploded in a busy shopping street in the Shia stronghold; the blast came on a busy shopping day on the eve of the holy month of Ramadan. A faction of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), claimed responsibility; however, FSA spokesman Luay al-Meqdad condemned the attack, as well as another attack the following month. On August 15, 2013, a month after the first bomb, another car bomb blast hit the suburb. At least 21 people were killed and 200 injured in the massive explosion; the majority of whom are children. A group linked to the Syrian opposition calling itself the "Brigades of Aisha" has claimed responsibility for the attack.

See also

References

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