 The town itself was the scene of several notable fierce battles during the Lebanese Civil War, its notability arising from being actually held for a long time by the Lebanese Army rather than a particular Lebanese militia.This was sometimes achieved against great odds, by facing strong pressure from Lebanese Muslim militias backed both by Syrian Army forces stationed at Lebanon and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) guerrilla factions.Between September 1983 and October 1990, General Michel Aoun's Eighth Brigade managed to repulse the Druze Progressive Socialist Party's People's Liberation Army (PLA) militia and their allies' attempts to wrestle control of the town.