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The Bus Massacre (also known as the Ain El Remmaneh incident or Massacre) is commonly presented as the spark that set off the Lebanese Civil War.

The Bus that was carrying the Palestinians victims

On April 13, 1975, in the Christian Ain El Remmaneh section of East Beirut, unidentified gunmen opened fire on members of the Kataeb Party (Phalange) in a drive-by shooting as they left a church ceremony. Pierre Gemayel, leader of the Kataeb Party and one of the most powerful men in Maronite Lebanon, was present for the family baptism. Four of the members were killed; the attack was believed to have been an attempt on the life of Gemayel, who blamed it on Palestinians. Hours later, Gemayel's supporters retaliated by killing 26 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC) traveling on a bus through Ain El Remmaneh on the way to the Palestinian refugee camp Tel el-Zaatar after attending a PFLP-GC conference.

As news of the murders spread, armed clashes between Palestinian militias and the Phalange erupted throughout the city. Soon Lebanese National Movement militias entered the battle alongside the Palestinians. Numerous ceasefires and political talks proved fruitless. Sporadic violence grew into a civil war in which 80,000 people were killed during the following year and a half.

References

• Laffin, John, The War of Desperation: Lebanon 1982-85