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| 1980 |
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| Rapid urbanization was accelerated by the civil war. Nearly 80 percent of Lebanese were now living in cities or large towns; half of the entire population resided in Beirut. A second demographic trend sprang entirely from the civil war. Whereas in the past the population was intermixed to various degrees, religious sects now tended to concentrate in particular areas. Christians held east Beirut and the northern section of Mt. Lebanon. Muslims predominated in west Beirut and the (mostly Shi’ite) southern and (mostly Sunni) northern ends of the country. The Druze took over the Shuf, the southern half of Mt. Lebanon. | 1 |
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| 1982, Aug. 23 |
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| Election of Bashir Jumayyil as president. After his assassination (Sept. 14), his brother Amin succeeded him. | 2 |
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| Sept. 16–18 |
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| Massacre of at least 300 unarmed Palestinians at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps in Beirut. The attacks, conducted by Christian militiamen with the connivance of Israeli forces, were apparently in revenge for the assassination of president-elect Bashir Jumayyil. | 3 |
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