Editing 1982 Lebanon War (section)

=====PLO=====
Palestinian Liberation Organization forces continued to grow in Lebanon, with full-time military personnel numbering around 15,000 [[Palestinian fedayeen|fedayeen]], although only 6,000 of these&nbsp;– including 4,500 regulars&nbsp;– deployed in the south. They were armed with 80 aging tanks, many of them no longer mobile, and with 100 to 200 pieces of artillery. According to Israeli analysts [[Ze'ev Schiff|Schiff]] and [[Ehud Ya'ari|Ya'ari]] (1984), the PLO more than quadrupled its artillery from 80 cannons and rocket launchers in July 1981 to 250 in June 1982.<ref>[[#refSchiff1984|Schiff & Ya'ari, pp.&nbsp;83–84]]</ref> The same authors also refer to Israeli intelligence estimates of the number of PLO fighters in southern Lebanon of 6,000 as

<blockquote>divided into three concentrations; about 1,500 south of the Litani River in the so-called [[Iron Triangle (Lebanon)|Iron Triangle]] (between the villages of Kana, Dir Amas, and Juya), [[Tyre (Lebanon)|Tyre]], and its surrounding refugee camps; another 2,500 of the Kastel Brigade in three districts between the Litani and a line running from Sidon to northeast of Nabatiye; and a third large concentration of about 1,500–2,000 men of the Karameh Brigade in the east, on the slopes of Mount Hermon.<ref>[[#refSchiff1984|Schiff & Ya'ari, pp.&nbsp;134–135]]</ref></blockquote>

PLO primary forces consisted of three conventional brigades&nbsp;– each of 2,000 to 2,500 men&nbsp;– and of seven artillery battalions.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+lb0161%29 |title= Lebanon. The Two-Week War. Section 1 of 1; Data as of December 1987 Library of Congress Country Studies |publisher= Lcweb2.loc.gov |date= 3 June 1982 |access-date= 29 February 2012}}</ref> Each brigade comprised contingents of the many PLO factions. The Yarmouk Brigade was stationed along the coastal strip while the Kastel Brigade was in the south. The Karameh Brigade was stationed on the eastern slopes of [[Mount Hermon]] in the area called [[South Lebanon conflict (1982–2000)|Fatahland]].

The PLO had around 15,000 to 18,000 fighters deployed as follows:<ref name="armlab"/>
* 6,000 in the Beirut, Ba'abda and Damour area
* 1,500 in Sidon
* 1,000 between Sidon and Tyre
* 1,500 in Tyre
* 1,000 deployed from Nabatiyeh to Beaufort Castle
* 2,000 in [[Fatahland]]
* around 1,000 in the UNIFIL Zone

Heavy weapons consisted of about 60 [[T-34]], [[T-54/55|T-54 and T-55 tanks]] (most of them dug in as [[bunker#Pillbox|pillboxes]]), up to 250 130mm and 155&nbsp;mm artillery, many [[BM21]] [[Katyusha rocket launcher|Katyusha]] multiple-rocket launchers plus heavy mortars.<ref>
[[#refSayigh1999|Sayigh, p.&nbsp;524]]</ref>