Beirut guns silent

Press, 5 July 1978, Page 8

Beirut guns silent

NZPA-Reuter Beiruti A deathly hush settled ; over the battle-scarredi streets of east Beirut early yesterday after three days of 1 Veavy fighting in which, more than 100 people were' reported killed. The big guns which had' battered the densely populated Christian half of the city fell silent on Monday I evening after a new cease-1 fire agreement between the I commanders of Syrian troops and Right-wing Lebanese militias. The accord, broadcast by the Right-wing Falangist Radio, was the second since the two sides began hammering each other — and hundreds of civilians caught in the crossfire — with heavy weapons.

Hospital sources said it I appeared that most of thei casualties had been civilians, { many of them young child-1 ren with severe shrapnel wounds. They said four children i had been killed in shelling in an Armenian district on ’the fringe of west Beirut on Tuesday. The cease-fire announceiment brought no immediate respite to the terrified resiI dents trapped in their dangerously exposed homes. A steady stream of shells l and rockets continued to crash into burning buildings for almost -n hour before the State-run Beirut Radio reported “A tangible improvement in the security situation." The radio said that there was still some sporadic

shooting in Ain Rummaneh, a Christian district in the] southern suburbs where the fighting began on Saturday. The cease-fire — the third lin 48 hours — followed meetings between the Rightist leaders and LieutenantColonel Sami Khatib, commander of the Syrian-domi-nated Arab peace-keeping force in Lebanon. Bashir Gemayel, over-all commander of the militias, appealed to his men over the Falangist Radio to abide “fully and truly” by the truce accord. The savage fighting, involving tanks and heavy artillery, was the third big clash this year between the Rightists and Syrian troops attached to the 30,000-strong peace-keeping force. The Syrians entered Lebanon at the height of the war two years ago to rescue the beleaguered Rightists from defeat at the hands of the Palestinians and Lebanese Leftists.