Union of Working People's Forces

{{Infobox political party

| name = Union of Working People's Forces

| logo = Union of Working People's Forces (Lebanon) symbol.jpg

| colorcode = green

| leader =

| president =

| chairman =

| general_secretary = Kamal Chatila

| foundation = 1965

| ideology = Nasserism

| position = Left-wing

| headquarters =

| international =

| website =

| country = Lebanon

}}

The Union of Working People's Forces – UWPF ({{langx|ar|اتحاد قوى الشعب العامل}} | Ittihâd qiwâ al-'amal al-cha'b al-'âmil), also known as Union of Toiling Peoples' Forces (UTPF), was a Nasserist political party in Lebanon which played a key role in the Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990).

Origins

The party was founded in 1965 by Kamal Chatila and Najah Wakim,{{cite book|author1=Franck Mermier|author2=Sabrina Mervin|title=Leaders et partisans au Liban|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2aF6PSJLs_sC&pg=PA170|year=2012|publisher=KARTHALA Editions|isbn=978-2-8111-0595-2|page=170}} with Chatila being its general secretary.{{cite book|title=Revue du Liban et de l'Orient arabe|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DxxRAAAAYAAJ|edition=1054–1061|date=February 1980|page=5}}{{cite book|author=Lucien Bitterlin|title=La flamme et le soufre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qoULAAAAIAAJ|year=1988|publisher=VegaPress|isbn=978-2-906480-04-9|page=139}} In ideological terms, the UNWPF represented a right-wing tendency in the Lebanese Nasserist movement.{{cite book|title=Travaux et Jours|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Va8bAQAAMAAJ|edition=46-49|year=1973|publisher=Centre culturel universitaire|page=7}}

Najah Wakim was elected to parliament in 1972, making him the sole Nasserist deputy.{{cite book|title=The War for Lebanon, 1970-1985|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2PbLcYdLUgsC&pg=PA82|year=1985|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=0-8014-9313-7|pages=82–83}}

The UWPF in the Lebanese Civil War

{{Infobox War Faction

| name = Victory Divisions
فرقة النصر

| war = Lebanese Civil War

| image =

| caption =

| active = 1975 - Unknown

| leaders = Kamal Chatila

| headquarters =

| area = Beirut, Nabatieh, Kfar Remen, Habboûch

| size = 1,000 fighters

| predecessor = 1,000 fighters

| partof = Lebanese National Movement
Front of Patriotic and National Parties

| allies = {{flagicon image|Flag of the United Arab Republic (1958–1971), Flag of Syria (1980–2024).svg}} Syrian Arab Armed Forces
File:Flag of the Amal Movement (version).svg Amal Movement
{{flagicon|Palestine}} Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)

| opponents = File:Forces Libanaises Flag.svg Lebanese Front
{{flagicon|Lebanon}} Lebanese Armed Forces
22px Progressive Socialist Party (PSP)/22px People's Liberation Army (PLA)
{{flagicon image|Flag of the Lebanese Communist Party.svg}} Lebanese Communist Party (LCP)/Popular Guard
22px Al-Mourabitoun
{{flagicon|Palestine}} Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
{{flagicon|Israel}} Israel Defense Forces (IDF)

}}

In the early phase of the Lebanese Civil War the UWPF maintained a 1,000-man strong militia, the Victory Divisions (Arabic: Firqat an-Nasr), which fought alongside the Lebanese National Movement (LNM) militias in the Beirut area, and also maintained military training bases in Nabatieh, Kfar Remen and Habboûch, and received significant support from both the Shia and Sunni Muslim communities.{{cite book|title=LEBANON A COUNTRY STUDY|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OPBpZchmUB4C|year=1989|page=243}} However, in late March 1976 the UWPF left the LNM to enter the pro-Syrian Front of Patriotic and National Parties (FPNP) alliance, and supported the June 1976 Syrian intervention in Lebanon, which caused a rift between them and the other Nasserist groups. From June to November 1976 the UWPF and its militia faced onslaughts by Fatah and the other LNM militias.{{cite book|title=Les Crises du Liban, 1958-1982: chronologie commentée|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NCZWAAAAYAAJ|year=1982|publisher=Documentation française|page=36}}

There was also a splinter group of the party, the Union of Working People's Forces-Corrective Movement (UWPF-CM), formed in October 1974 and led by Issam Al-Arab.{{cite book|title=Maghreb, Machrek|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MopxAAAAMAAJ|year=1975|publisher=Fondation nationale des sciences politiques, Centre d'étude des relations internationales, Section monde arabe|page=317}}{{cite book|author=Alain Ménargues|title=Les secrets de la guerre au Liban: du coup d'Etat de Bachir Gémayel aux massacres des camps palestiniens|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T6wtAQAAIAAJ|year=2004|publisher=Albin Michel|isbn=978-2-226-12127-1|page=33}}

References

Bibliography

Alain Menargues, Les Secrets de la guerre du Liban: Du coup d'état de Béchir Gémayel aux massacres des camps palestiniens, Albin Michel, Paris 2004. {{ISBN|978-2226121271}} (in French)
Edgar O'Ballance, Civil War in Lebanon, 1975-92, Palgrave Macmillan, London 1998. {{ISBN|0-333-72975-7}}
Itamar Rabinovich, The war for Lebanon, 1970-1985, Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London 1989 (revised edition). {{ISBN|978-0-8014-9313-3}}, 0-8014-9313-7 – [https://books.google.com/books?id=Af-tDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA83]
Marius Deeb, The Lebanese Civil War, Praeger Publishers Inc., New York 1980. {{ISBN|978-0030397011}}
Thomas Collelo (ed.), Lebanon: a country study, Library of Congress, Federal Research Division, Headquarters, Department of the Army (DA Pam 550–24), Washington D.C., December 1987 (Third edition 1989). – [https://cdn.loc.gov/master/frd/frdcstdy/le/lebanoncountryst00coll/lebanoncountryst00coll.pdf]
Tom Najem and Roy C. Amore, Historical Dictionary of Lebanon, Second Edition, Historical Dictionaries of Asia, Oceania, and the Middle East, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Lanham, Boulder, New York & London 2021. {{ISBN|9781538120439}}, 1538120437