Vanguard of the Maani Army (Movement of the Druze Jihad)
Open-knowledge reference entry
The Vanguard of the Maani Army (Movement of the Druze Jihad) – VMA (MDJ) (Arabic: طليعة جيش المعاني (حركة الجهاد الدرزي) | Taleat Jayish al-Maani (Harakat al-Jihad al-Duruzi)) was a predominantly Druze splinter faction of the Lebanese Army that came to play a role in the 1975–77 phase of the Lebanese Civil War.
Origins
The VMA (MJD) was formed in October 1976, following the break-up early that same year of the Lebanese Army into four rival groups or factions, including a predominately Muslim faction, the Lebanese Arab Army (LAA), aligned with the left-wing Lebanese National Movement (LNM) and a mainly Christian faction, the Army of Free Lebanon (AFL) aligned in turn with the right-wing Lebanese Front.
The group's founder was the conservative Druze politician Farid Hamadeh who opposed the za'im (political boss) Kamal Jumblatt, leader of both the left-wing Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and the LNM coalition. Closely linked to the Christian Lebanese Front coalition, the VMA (MJD)'s own manifesto claimed that their main goal was to rid Lebanon of the Palestinians and the 'communists' – meaning the Lebanese leftist parties and militias of the LNM, in addition to their allies of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) guerrilla factions and the Palestinian refugees living in the country. The group's leadership also expressed its opposition to the Syrian military intervention of June 1976.
Structure and organization
Based at the Chouf District, the VMA (MJD)' strength was estimated at about 100–200 Druze regular soldiers equipped with small-arms and military vehicles drawn from Lebanese Army depots and Internal Security Forces (ISF) Police stations. It was led by Druze junior officers from the Lebanese Army, such as Raouf Abdel-Salam and Wahib Abdel-Salam.
List of VMA (MDJ) commanders
Farid Hamadeh
Raouf Abdel-Salam
Wahib Abdel-Salam
See also
Lebanese Civil War
List of extrajudicial killings and political violence in Lebanon
Army of Free Lebanon
Lebanese Arab Army
Lebanese Druze
Lebanese Front
Lebanese Forces (militia)
Lebanese National Movement
List of weapons of the Lebanese Civil War
Progressive Socialist Party
People's Liberation Army (Lebanon)
Notes
References
Further reading
External links
Chamussy (René) – Chronique d’une guerre: Le Liban 1975-1977 – éd. Desclée – 1978 (in French)
Histoire militaire de l'armée libanaise de 1975 à 1990 (in French)
L'armee libanaise: eclatement ou destin national?
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