Attack on U.S. envoy fails

Press, 29 August 1980, Page 6

Attack on U.S. envoy fails

NZPA Beirut The United States Ambassador in Beirut (Mr John Gunther Dean) escaped an assassination attempt yesterday when gunmen fired a rocket-propelled- grenade and a .hail of machine-gun fire at his limousine.

The 54-year-61d ambassador,. his French-born wife, Martine, and college r age daughter, Catherine, were not injured, nor were any bodyguards in the three-car convoy, a United States Embassy spokesman said.

The gunmen, driving a Mercedes-Benz, opened up on the ambassador’s convoy as it made a U-turn on the four-lane Beirut-Damascus highway, driving from his summer residence at Yarze, in a mostly Christian area east of Beirut, to a dinner at American University in the mainly Muslim West Beirut.

Mr Dean’s limousine and the other cars in the convoy were hit by a total : of 20 bullets, but none pierced the armour plating of the vehicles, the spokesman said. The lead car was disabled and it's ■ three occupants, all security men, moved to the follow car.

•.Security men riding in,the third car said that they returned fire with automatic weapons. “We fired back at them,” said one bodyguard. “I’m not sure:if we hit any-

i one because we left pretty quickly.” The State radio said the escorts’ gunfire punctured the tyres of the Mercedes and security sources said three' men were arrested at the scene, which was strewn with broken glass. Mr Dean’s car sped on to his dinner engagement, the spokesman said. The spokesman declined to comment bn the identity of the assailants. “We are in touch with the authorities and I wouldnlt want to speculate on that.’,’ Beirut has been the scene of bitter fighting among a multitude of factions since the end of the civil war. Muslims have fought Christians, Muslims and Christians have fought among themselves, and the Syrian force that has occupied the country since the war has had sporadic battles with many of the other factions.