Lebanese Forces

The Lebanese Forces played a major role during the Lebanese Civil War when they were the armed branch of the Phalange Party before gaining their autonomy. After the civil war ended, its activities were severely restricted by the pro-Syrian government, the party was even disbanded and its leader, Samir Geagea, jailed for life in 1994 for the assassination of former Prime Minister Rashid Karami in 1987. The Lebanese Forces joined the March 14 alliance after the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The Lebanese Forces entered the Parliament for the first time in 2005 after the withdrawal of the Syrian forces, and became the second largest Christian party in the 2018 election, with 15 seats in Parliament. The Lebanese Forces own RLL, Al-Massira monthly magazine, Lebanese-forces.com news website, as well as a sports website Sports-Leb.com, an entertainment website 7asriyan.com, and the local magazine Maraya El-Jebbe. The party established LBC in 1985, which was placed under the leadership of Pierre Daher, who later bought LBC and turned it into LBCI. The Lebanese Forces lost its legal claim on LBCI to Daher. Today, the LF is the most popular Christian political party, increasing its number of seats in Parliament from 15 to 19 during the 2022 parliamentary election.