Dahieh

Dahieh (Arabic: الضاحية الجنوبية, lit. 'the southern suburb', French: Banlieue Sud de Beyrouth, Dâhiye de Beyrouth) is a predominantly Shia Muslim suburb, located south of Beirut, in the Baabda District of Lebanon. It is composed of several towns and municipalities.[1]

The Haret Hreik suburb of Dahieh in 2009

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 Lebanon War, Dahieh was a residential and commercial area with malls, stores and souks.[2]

Dahieh is the Beirut stronghold of Shia militant group Hezbollah, and it had large auditoria in Haret Hreik, Hadath and Bourj el-Barajneh, where Hezbollah followers gathered during special occasions.[1]

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,[1] when those are included, the population rises to about 700,000 people. These camps have seen a rise in population ever since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, also holding Syrians and Kurds.

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

2006 Lebanon war
A crater in Dahieh in 2008, two years after the 2006 Lebanon War

Hezbollah's television station, Al-Manar, was targeted in the area.[2][3]

Hours after the August 14, 2006 ceasefire, Hezbollah pledged to reconstruct houses for the dwellers of Dahieh, and offered rent money for the time-being as an 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,[4] the reconstruction of Dahieh should begin from 25 May 2007, the day of the anniversary of the 2000 Israeli pullout from Lebanon.

2013 bombings
Main articles: July 2013 Beirut bombing and August 2013 Beirut bombing

On July 9, 2013, 53 people were wounded after a bomb exploded in a busy shopping street in the suburb; the blast came on a busy shopping day on the eve of the holy Muslim month of Ramadan.[5] A faction of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) claimed responsibility; however, FSA spokesman Luay Miqdad 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.[6] At least 21 people were killed and 200 injured in the massive explosion, the majority of whom children.[6] A group linked to the Syrian opposition calling itself the "Brigade of Aisha" claimed responsibility for the attack.[6]

See also

References
  1. Cobban, Helena (April–May 2005). "Hizbullah's New Face". Boston Review. Archived from the original on 13 June 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  2. Traboulsi, Karim (2017-07-04). "Oppa Dahieh Style: Searching for K-Pop in Hizballah land". english.alaraby.co.uk. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  3. Bouckaert, Peter; Watch (Organization), Human Rights (2007). Why They Died: Civilian Casualties in Lebanon During the 2006 War. Human Rights Watch.
  4. "Jihad al-Bina Association in Lebanon: A Hezbollah social foundation engaged in construction and social projects among the Shiite community, being a major component in Hezbollah's civilian infrastructure". The Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center. 2019-06-23. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  5. Beirut, Associated Press in (2013-07-09). "Beirut car bomb blasts Hezbollah stronghold". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-01-28.
  6. Beirut, Associated Press in (2013-08-15). "Beirut car bomb rips through Hezbollah stronghold". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-01-28.

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