The warlords who controlled the city, the ones who were recently forced out by Islamic militias, wanted someone else for the job.
Even before the aborted election, members of Islamic militias and other militant groups would torment and sometimes kill women who refused to wear the traditional veil.
The Katyusha attack followed an Israeli strike that killed a leader of another Islamic militia, Amal.
The cabinet reshuffling is intended to end poisonous rivalries that have imperiled the government at a time when the Islamic militias are expanding their reach.
Gabriel says that in 1978 a stranger warned her family of an impending attack by the Islamic militias on all Christians.
The Islamic militia reportedly mined the road to Jilib.
How could Herak, as a commander of the Islamic militia, help these women whose lives had been stolen away?
The stability created by the Islamic militias also began to collapse with people returning to their homes and bandits once again roaming the streets.
He initially supported the Taliban, the fundamentalist Islamic militia that took over in the late 1990's, believing they could restore order, before eventually turning against them.
The emerging Hezbollah, soon to become the preeminent Islamic militia, evolved during this period.