Barbara Checkpoint -

Lebanese Checkpoint

The Barbara Checkpoint was established by the Kataeb on the Beirut – Tripoli highway, next to the town of Barbara with the objective of controlling people coming from the regions of the North and entering what was called “the free zone”, region of Jbeil. The checkpoint was established on April 22, 1979, by the Kataeb following the massacre of 13 of its supporters next to the village of Amchit. By the late 1980s, the checkpoint was controlled by the Lebanese Forces. Many civilians were kidnapped at the Barbara checkpoint. It is at this checkpoint that, on July 4, 1982, according to Lebanese media, four Iranian diplomats - Ahmad Motevaselian, Seyyed Mohsen Mousavi, Taqi Rastegar Moqaddam, and Kazem Akhavan - were abducted. The abducted individuals were reportedly transported to Karantina, Beirut before being moved to the prison of Adonis, located in Mount Lebanon. Their fates remain unknown.