Search for weapons goes on in Beirut

Press, 11 October 1982, Page 8

Search for weapons goes on in Beirut

NZPA-Reuter Beirut The Lebanese Army had closed off part of west Beirut yesterday to search for weapons and check identity cards as its operation to restore Government authority went into its fifth day. The Army said that it aimed to confiscate weapons ; and ammunition belonging to Palestinian guerrilla groups and their Lebanese Leftist allies, and to detain foreigners without proper residence permits. But uncovering guerrillas that may have stayed in Beirut after the withdrawal

of Palestine Liberation Organisation forces in August also appears to be one of the Army’s concerns. Reports of Palestinian detainees being roughly treated have caused concern among Western nations providing a peace-keeping force in Beirut, especially Italy. The Foreign Ministry in Rome said that Italy had instructed its ambassador in Beirut to seek stronger guarantees of good conduct of the Lebanese Army. The Army said that 270 people were arrested in the first three days of searches, but newspapers put the num-

ber much higher. The Right-wing Falangist Party radio reported that 70 people had been detained in the latest sweeps, and scores of arms caches and stolen cars discovered. Meanwhile, the P.L.O. Chairman, Mr Yasser Arafat, has arrived in Amman from Bahrain on an official visit to Jordan for talks with King Hussein. Mr Arafat was met at Amman airport by the Jordanian Prime Minister, Mr Modar Badran. It is Mr Arafat’s first visit to Jordan since he left Beirut. _____