East Beirut canton

The East Beirut canton was a Christian-dominated geopolitical region that existed in Lebanon from 1976[1] until its gradual erosion following the Taif Agreement and the end of the country's civil war.[2] It was one of the wartime state-like territories, controlled by the Lebanese Forces (LF) militia, and was separated in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, from Muslim majority West Beirut by the Green Line, extending outside the capital northward to include the region of Keserwan up till the city of Byblos on the western coast and the northern part of Mount Lebanon to the northeast. It bordered the Zgharta region to the north, which was controlled by a rival Christian militia, the Marada Brigade.[3]

East Beirut was a semi-independent region, from which Syrian troops stationed in Lebanon were mostly absent.[4] It had its own security and legal apparatus, with the LF also providing the local population with subsidized services, including public transport, education and healthcare among others.[5] The canton had more than 60% of the country's industrial capacity.[6] In 1976, to finance its war effort, the LF established the "National Treasury" in order to manage its revenue, mainly through direct taxation of the canton's population, among other sources.[7]