TALL ZA'TAR

also called Zatar, former Palestinian refugee camp, Jabal Lubnan muhafazah (governorate), central Lebanon, north of Beirut, near Nabay. The camp was the last large Muslim outpost in the midst of the predominantly Christian inhabited area of north Lebanon and had a population estimated at 15,000 in the mid-1970s. During the Lebanese civil war (that began in the spring of 1975) between Muslims and Christians, the camp was decimated in August of 1976 after a 52 day siege by Christian militiamen aided by Syrian troops. About 1,600 people died during the siege, 4,000 were wounded, and 6,000 surrendered, the rest remaining in the camp, later to be placed in other settlements in Lebanon. The destruction of Tall Za'tar in the Lebanese civil war completed the partitioning of Lebanon between Muslims in the south and Christians in the north.