Safra massacre
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The Safra massacre, or Day of the Long Knives, occurred in the coastal town Safra (north to Beirut) on July 7, 1980, during the Lebanese civil war, as part of Bashir Gemayel's effort to consolidate all the Christian fighters under his leadership in the Lebanese Forces.
The Phalangist forces launched a surprise attack on the Tigers, a 500-man militia that was the armed force of the National Liberal Party (Lebanon) of ex-Lebanese President Camille Chamoun. The attack was supposed to be conducted at around 4:00 a.m., but in order to spare the life of Dany Chamoun, the attack was postponed to 10:00 a.m. in making sure that Dany left for Fakra. The attack claimed the lives of roughly 80 people. Prior to the attack, Camille Chamoun decided to disarm the militia in order to avoid further bloodshed from both the Phalangists and the Tigers. Since that time, the National Liberal Party has survived as a political party and as an active participant in Lebanese politics.
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