In 1951, 1,300 Palestinian refugees were settled in the area. By the mid-1970s, the neighborhood had become a favela of 27,000 people – primarily Palestinians, Armenians, Kurds, and Shia Muslims. It was also a base for PLO paramilitary groups who engaged in battle during the Lebanese Civil War marking the area as a military target by opposing factions, particularly Lebanese Christians based in the nearby Ashrifieh neighborhoods. In January 1976, at the height of the first phase of the Lebanese Civil War, the Karantina district was deemed a danger for the residents of East Beirut and following multiple attacks by Christian militias with the purpose of clearing out the PLO elements, the population was killed and expelled in heavy fighting during the Karantina massacre by the right-wing Lebanese Forces, leaving around 1,500 people dead.