Twenty-one Lebanese nationalists are executed in Martyrs' Square, Beirut by Djemal Pasha.
Ahmed Djemal (Ottoman Turkish: , romanized: Ahmet Ceml Paa; 6 May 1872 21 July 1922), also known as Cemal Pasha was an Ottoman military leader and one of the Three Pashas that ruled the Ottoman Empire during World War I.
Djemal was born in Mytilene, Lesbos. As an officer of II Corps he was stationed in Salonica where he developed political sympathies for the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) reformers. He was initially praised by Christian missionaries and provided support to the Armenian victims of the Adana massacres.
In the course of his army career Djemal developed a rivalry with Mustafa Kemal Atatrk, served in Salonica on the frontlines of the Balkan Wars and was given the military command of Constantinople after the Raid on the Sublime Porte. Djemal's authoritarian three year rule in Syria alienated the local population who opposed Turkish nationalism. Djemal Pasha's role in the Armenian genocide has been controversial as his policies were not as deadly as other CUP leaders; Djemal favored the forced assimilation of Armenians.
Martyrs' Square (Arabic: ساحة الشهداء Sahat al Shouhada; French: Place des Martyrs), historically known as "Al Burj" or "Place des Cannons", is the historical central public square of Beirut, Lebanon.Like the Martyr's Square in Damascus, it is named after the 6 May 1916 executions ordered by Djemal Pasha during World War I.