The East Beirut canton, also known as Kfarshima - Madfoun[1] or Marounistan,[2] was a Christian militia controlled territory that existed in Lebanon from 1976[3] until its gradual erosion following the Taif Agreement and the end of the country's civil war.

[10] In 1976, to finance its war effort, the LF established the "National Treasury" in order to manage its revenue, mainly through direct taxation of the canton's population, among other sources.

Fearing that its own party's militia was getting out of his control, Camille tacitly allowed its Kataeb rivals to absorb the Tigers' into the Lebanese Forces (LF) under Bachir Gemayel.

As the Elimination War was ravaging East Beirut and its suburbs (up to the Metn), the handoff actually began in Keserwan district – at the level of Nahr el-Kalb – up to Barbara.

[29] Considered by many analysts as the best organized of all militia "fiefs" in the whole of Lebanon, it was administrated by a network of Phalangist-controlled business corporations headed by "Chef" Boutros Khawand, which included the GAMMA Group brain-trust, the DELTA computer company, and the SONAPORT holding.

[30] The latter run since 1975 the legal commercial ports of Jounieh and Beirut, including the infamous clandestine "Dock Five" (French: Cinquième basin), near the Karantina KRF's HQ, from which the Phalange extracted additional revenues by levying taxes and by conducting arms-dealing operations.

[34] The Canton was also served by a clandestine-built airstrip, the Pierre Gemayel International Airport, opened in 1976 at Hamat, north of Batroun, and had its own radio station, The Voice of Lebanon (Arabic: Iza'at Sawt Loubnan) or La Voix du Liban (VDL) in French, set up in that same year.

The region was defended by the Lebanese Front army brigades of 12,000 men, which was well-equipped by the United States, along with 5,000 militiamen under Samir Geagea and 1,000 belonging to Kataeb Regulatory Forces, supported by Israel.