That since the early 1980's, the PLO, Syria, and Iran have commited genocide to shift the majority makeup of Lebannon to Shiite and Arab. The PLO was especially vicious raping and killing many of the christian villages of southern Lebannon. In later years, Iran has been sending 100's of million of dollars a year to Hezbollah which allowed them to bankroll the takeover. Syria allowed many shiites from Iran and Syria to immigrate to Lebannon, especially southern Lebannon, while it was in control.
I'll check out the NY Times to review their in-depth analysis of these atrocities. Most likely this was front page coverage.