Christian East Beirut was ringed by heavily fortified Palestinian camps and East Beirut became besieged by the PLO camps . This situation was remedied by the Kataeb Regulatory Forces ( most notably the BG Squad that was led by Bachir ) and their allied Christian militias as they besieged the Palestinian camps embedded in Christian East Beirut one at a time and brought them down . The first was on 18 January 1976 when the heavily fortified Karantina camp , located near the strategic Beirut Harbor , was invaded : About 1,000 PLO fighters and civilians were killed . The Palestinian PLO and al-Saiqa forces retaliated by attacking the isolated defenseless Christian town of Damour about 20 miles south of Beirut on the coast , during the Damour massacre in which 1,000 Christian civilians were killed and 5,000 were sent fleeing north by boat , since all roads were blocked off . The Maronites retaliated with the invasion of the largest and strongest Palestinian refugee camp , Tel al-Zaatar that same year . Bachir , with his KRF militia units , also fought against the PLO and LNM militias at the Battle of the Hotels in central Beirut . The most important battle won by the Phalange for the control of the hotel district was the fighting over the possession of the Holiday Inn , due to its important strategic location . Before that battle , the Holiday Inn had been occupied by the PLO
Karantina camp
Karantina massacre
Lebanese Forces (militia)