What is the South Lebanon Army (SLA)?
The mainly Christian SLA militia is armed, trained and financed by Israel. Antoine Lahad: 15 years as SLA chiefFormed during the Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon in 1978, the SLA was originally commanded by a former Lebanese army officer, Saad Haddad. When he died in 1984, Israel appointed Antoine Lahad as his replacement; he still leads the SLA. What is Hezbollah? Hezbollah (‘the Party of God’) emerged as a political and military force in the early 1980s, its raison d’etre the second Israeli invasion of Lebanon. Sheikh Nasrallah: Hezbollah leaderAccording to its manifesto, its “Islamic resistance units” are fighting “for the liberation of the occupied territories and the ejection of the aggressive Israeli forces”. Hezbollah’s Secretary-General is Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, a Shiite cleric. The guerrillas have received ideological inspiration and financial assistance from Iran, and have been denounced by the United States as a terrorist group. The Lebanese Government, influenced by
