Claim: The Army of Free Lebanon was established in 1976 as an anti-government splinter faction of the Lebanese Army, working in support of the then-President.
Evidence: The Army of Free Lebanon – AFL (Arabic: جيش لبنان الحر‎, Jayish Lubnan al-Horr) or "Colonel Barakat's Army" (Arabic: جيش بركات‎, Jayish Barakat), also designated Armée du Liban Libre (ALL) and Armée du Colonel Barakat in French, was a predominantly Christian splinter faction of the Lebanese Army that came to play a major role in the 1975–77 phase of the Lebanese Civil War. 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.