The Battle of Souk El Gharb in September 1983

Souk El-Gharb figured prominently in the Civil War years, but during this particular timeframe the town attracted worldwide attention due to the involvement of the United States Navy in the Mountain War, whose backdrop was the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in June 1982. On August 31, 1983, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) unilaterally withdrew from the Chouf District located southeast of Beirut, thus removing the buffer between the Druze PLA and the Christian Maronite Lebanese Forces (LF) militias and triggered another round of brutal fighting. By September, the Druze PSP/PLA had defeated the LF in a series of engagements and gained control over most of the Chouf. In later stages of the battle, the Lebanese Army loyal to President Amin Gemayel's government relieved the LF and took over the positions that they had held onto in Chouf.

Baabda lay downhill on the Beirut-Aley-Damascus highway, and any militia forces advancing from the south had to pass through Souk El Gharb in order to get into the Beirut-Aley road. Moreover, Souk El Gharb controlled a ridge that overlooked the key East Beirut districts of Baabda and Yarze, where were located the Presidential Palace and the Lebanese Ministry of Defense complex, respectively. From that ridge, Druze PLA artillery units had a point-blank light of sight to those areas.

The Lebanese Army Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant general Ibrahim Tannous, tried to get the Americans involved, reasoning with them that they should do so, since the Syrians were backing the anti-government militias. At first, the Americans refused but eventually agreed when they were told that Souk El Gharb was in danger of being overrun.^[4] The nuclear-powered missile cruiser USS Virginia, and the destroyer USS John Rodgers, the frigate USS Bowen, and the destroyer USS Arthur W. Radford fired 338 rounds from their five-inch (127 mm) naval guns in support of the Lebanese Army units defending Souk El Gharb. Eventually, the Lebanese Army's Eighth Brigade bore the brunt of the attacks, but succeeded in retaining control of the town after three days of heavy fighting. However, it remains an open question whether they would have held it without the American naval support.^[5][6] Much of the town was left in ruins during these hostilities. The PLA seized Souk El Gharb three times over, but failed at each occasion to keep it for long: firstly in September 1983, because of the American naval bombardments; secondly in March 1984, after U.S. troops left Lebanon and because of internal political pressure brought to bear on the PSP/PLA to withdraw from Souk El Gharb; and thirdly in 1987, after the PLA temporarily took control of the area, a quarrel between Druze troops allowed the Lebanese Army's Fifth Brigade to retake the town, which they held until October 13, 1990, when it fell to an alliance of Druze PSP/PLA, Christian Lebanese Forces – Executive Command (LFEC) and Syrian Social Nationalist Party (SSNP) militias and Syrian Army troops.

Some authors, including Thomas Friedman, have argued that the use of the naval bombardments was the turning point in which the U.S. military forces of the Multinational Force in Lebanon (MNF) contingent began to be perceived as active participants in the ongoing civil war rather than neutral peacekeepers, which made them vulnerable to retaliation.^[7][8]

Much use was made of landmines in the vicinity of the town and demining is an ongoing concern. One strategic position known as Hill 888, overlooking the Beirut International Airport was extensively mined.^[9]