38. CIA Factbook on Lebanon listing (dated 1993)
Description
This article is from the Lebanon FAQ, by Alaa Dakroub dakroub@leb.net with numerous contributions by others.
38. CIA Factbook on Lebanon listing (dated 1993)
Lebanon
*Lebanon, Header
Note: Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions
and regaining its national sovereignty since the end of the devastating
16-year civil war in October 1990. Under the Ta'if accord - the blueprint for
national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable
political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the
political process. Since December 1990, the Lebanese have formed three
cabinets and conducted the first legislative election in 20 years. Most of the
militias have been weakened or disbanded. The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) has
seized vast quantities of weapons used by the militias during the war and
extended central government authority over about one-half of the country.
Hizballah, the radical Sh'ia party, retains most of its weapons. Foreign
forces still occupy areas of Lebanon. Israel maintains troops in southern
Lebanon and continues to support a proxy militia, The Army of South Lebanon
(ASL), along a narrow stretch of territory contiguous to its border. The ASL's
enclave encompasses this self-declared security zone and about 20 kilometers
north to the strategic town of Jazzine. As of December 1993, Syria maintained
about 30,000-35,000 troops in Lebanon. These troops are based mainly in
Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's deployment was
legitimized by the Arab League early in Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if
accord. Citing the continued weakness of the LAF, Beirut's requests, and
failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional
reforms in the Ta'if accord, Damascus has so far refused to withdraw its
troops from Beirut.
*Lebanon, Geography
Location:
Middle East, in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria
Map references:
Africa, Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area 10,400 sq km
land area 10,230 sq km
comparative area about 0.8 times the size of Connecticut
Land boundaries:
total 454 km, Israel 79 km, Syria 375 km
Coastline: 225 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: separated from Israel by the 1949 Armistice Line;
Israeli troops in southern
Lebanon since June 1982; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern
Lebanon since October 1976
Climate: Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers;
Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows
Terrain: narrow coastal plain; Al Biqa' (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon
and Anti-Lebanon Mountains
Natural resources: limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a
water-deficit region
Land use:
arable land 21%
permanent crops 9%
meadows and pastures 1%
forest and woodland 8%
other 61%
Irrigated land: 860 sq km (1989 est.)
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