Sixth of February Movement

The Sixth of February Movement or ‘6th FM’ was a small predominantly Sunni Nasserist faction active in Lebanon from the early 1970s to the mid-1980s. Based at West Beirut and estimated at about 100-150 fighters armed and trained by the PLO, the ‘6th FM’ joined the ranks of the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) during the 1975-77 phase of the Lebanese Civil War, fighting alongside other Nasserist-oriented factions. However, the political collapse of the LNM in the wake of the June 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the subsequent departure of the PLO from Beirut meant that the smaller Nasserist militias (‘6th FM’ included) had to fend for themselves. Their unwavering support for the PLO resulted in the adoption of a hostile stance regarding Syria’s military presence in Lebanon and when the War of the Camps broke out in May 1985, the ‘6th FM’ allied with the Al-Mourabitoun and Palestinian refugee camp militias against a Syrian-backed coalition of Druze, Shia Muslim and other pro-Syrian armed factions. Eventually, the ‘6th FM’ bore the brunt of this all-out offensive until being finally suppressed by the Shia Amal Movement in June 1986. This faction is no longer active.

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