Dahieh
الضاحية الجنوبية | |
---|---|
Coordinates: 33°51′N 35°31′E / 33.85°N 35.51°E | |
Country | Lebanon |
Governorate | Mount Lebanon |
District | Baabda |
Area | |
• Total | 1,563 ha (3,862 acres) |
Elevation | 1,250 m (4,100 ft) |
Dahieh (Arabic: الضاحية الجنوبية, lit. 'the southern suburb', French: Banlieue Sud de Beyrouth, Dâhiye de Beyrouth) is a predominantly Shia Muslim suburb in the south of Beirut, in the Baabda District of Lebanon. It has a minority of Sunni Muslims, Christians, and a Palestinian refugee camp with 20,000 inhabitants. It is a residential and commercial area with malls, stores and souks,[1] and comprises several towns and municipalities,[2] including Ghobeiry, Haret Hreik, Bourj el-Barajneh, Ouzai, and Hay El-Saloum. It is north of Rafic Hariri International Airport, and the M51 freeway that links Beirut to the airport passes through it.
Dahieh is the Beirut stronghold of Lebanese political party and paramilitary group Hezbollah, and it had large auditoria in Haret Hreik, Hadath and Bourj el-Barajneh, where Hezbollah followers gathered on special occasions.[citation needed] The area was severely bombed by Israel in the 2006 Lebanon War and in the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (which started in 2023), the latter of which killed Secretary-General of Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah.[3]