Red Cross to restart rescue

Press, 7 August 1976, Page 6

Red Cross to restart rescue

NZPA-Reuter Beirut The International Red Cross will today resume its evacuation of more than 1000 wounded from the besieged Tel Al-Zaatar Palestinian refugee camp. Red Cross officials said the operation would recommence after a pause, called while the organisation sought further assurances on security from Rightist groups bombarding the camp. In two operations on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Red Cross evacuated 334 of the estimated 1000 or more wounded from the camp. Five of the evacuees are since reported to have died.

The Red Cross did not detail what new assurances had been given, but both its officials and the Arab League envoy (Dr Hassan Sabir Al-Kholi) said a further evacuation would take place today. Under the terms of a cease-fire that went into effect on Thursday, Lebanon’s fifty-fourth in 16 months of civil war, Saudi and Sudanese peace-keeping forces were expected to take up observation positions on both Leftist and Rightist sides. Gunmen of the Interior Minister Camille Charmoun’s Right-wing National Liberal Party bombarded Arab League troops on two pre-

vious occasions when they tried to move from Moslerriheld West Beirut into the Christian-held east of the city.

But under the present cease-fire agreement N.L.P. representatives have given their word that the presence of Arab League forces will be tolerated. The first day of the fiftyfourth cease-fire showed little more promise than its predecessors.

Fighting continued and Arab League sources said each side blamed the other for the breach. Major-Gen-eral Mohammed Hassan Ghaneim, the Egyptian commander of Arab League forces, said this was “to be expected on the first day.”

Mr Amin Gemayel, son of the Right-wing Falangist Party chief, Mr Pierre Gemayel, said the general ceasefire could never be serious “because there is no force big enough to supervise it.”

A meeting of a Lebanese-Palestinian-Syrian committee set up under Arab League auspices to monitor the cease-fire has been postponed at Svria’s request, the Leftist Beirut Radio reported.

According to an agreement between Syria and the Palestinian Movement last week, the four-man body was to include two Lebanese, one Palestinian, and one Syrian.