Lebanon: Information on a group called al-Ansar
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 January 1993 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | LBN12788 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Lebanon: Information on a group called al-Ansar, 1 January 1993, LBN12788, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aafc53.html [accessed 1 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Information on this subject is scarce.
According to a professor of Political Sciences at the Université du Québec à Montréal, al-Ansar is a mainly Christian militia created because the Lebanese army was unable to successfully recruit among young Christians (26 Jan. 1993). The professor added that this paramilitary organization has a similar status as the reserve, but it is submitted to a stricter military training (Ibid.). General Aoun re-energized this organization with new recruits during his war against the Syrian army (Ibid.). This organization is not currently active (Ibid.).
In a book published in 1990, Robert Fisk reported the existence of an Israeli-controlled prison camp called Ansar (1990, 455). This information was corroborated by the professor of Political Sciences at the Université du Québec à Montréal, who further reported that this prison was located in the Israeli self- declared "security zone" near the village of Ansar (26 Jan. 1993).
Additional and/or corroborating information on this subject is currently unavailable to the DIRB in Ottawa.
References
Fisk, Robert. 1990. Pity the Nation: Lebanon at War. London, U.K.: Andre Deutsch Limited.
Université du Québec à Montréal, Department of Political Sciences. 26 January 1992. Telephone Interview with Professor.
