The Army of Free Lebanon was formed in 1976 as a splinter faction of the Lebanese Army, the military of the Lebanese Republic, which includes an army, air force and navy.
The AFL began to be established on January 23, 1976, in Beirut by Lebanese Colonel Antoine Barakat who declared loyalty to the then President of Lebanon Suleiman Frangieh. The Army of Free Lebanon  AFL (Arabic:   , Jayish Lubnan al-Horr) or "Colonel Barakat's Army" (Arabic:  , Jayish Barakat), also designated Armee du Liban Libre (ALL) and Armee du Colonel Barakat in French, was a predominantly Christian splinter faction of the Lebanese Army that came to play a major role in the 197577 phase of the Lebanese Civil War. The Lebanese Armed Forces ([LAF] Arabic:    | Al-Quwwat al-Musallaha al-Lubnaniyya) or Forces Armees Libanaises (FAL) in French, also known as the Lebanese Army (Arabic:   or "Armee libanaise" in French), is the military of the Lebanese Republic. It consists of three branches, the army, the air force, and the navy. 
