Peace accord broken hours after signing

Press, 9 February 1983, Page 8

Peace accord broken hours after signing

NZPA-Reuter Beirut An Israeli-sponsored peace pact between Lebanese Christian and Druse militias battling in the mountains east of Beirut was violated yesterday within hours of its being signed. Lebanese security sources reported gunbattles in the late afternoon between the Druse town of Aitat and Christian positions in neighbouring Souq el-Gharb. But the sources said these later died out. The situation in the mountains overshadowed a thirteenth round of LebaneseIsraeli talks at Khalde, south of Beirut, on a withdrawal of Israeli invasion forces from Lebanon and future relations between the two countries.

On Sunday the mainly Druse Progressive Socialist Party said that it had driven gunmen of the Rightist Christian "Lebanese forces” out of the regional capital of Aley after a day of heavy fighting. •That prompted Antoine

Fattal. leader of the Lebanese delegation at the Khalade talks, to protest at yesterday's session that Israel was responsible for the safety of civilians in the territory it occupies. Shortly afterwards the commander of Israeli forces around Beirut, BrigadierGeneral Amnon Lipkin, arrived at Khalde and told reporters that the Progressive Socialists, the “Lebanese forces.” and Israel had agreed on a plan to keep the peace in the area. General Lipkin said that the accord had called for the removal of all roade blocks and for a prisoner exchange.

“No one will be able to hold a weapon in the area.” he said. He did not say how this would be achieved.

Almost every mountain household has an arsenal of small arms, a tradition which General Lipkin said made it hard to know how many weapons there were in the area. He said that the Israeli Army would try to enforce

the accord but ,could not guarantee it would be respected. “It's not a question of the Army, it's a question of the people of Lebanon. If the people of Lebanon want to stop it (the fighting), it will be stopped.” he said.

Lebanese politicians have alleged that the Israelis are manipulating the mountain clashes to exert pressure on Lebanon at the withdrawal talks.

An announcement after yesterday's talks said ■ that the negotiators were now on to the stage of trying to work out “common draft .texts." but the two sides are believed to be still divided over Israeli demands for a residual military presence in Lebanon. Informed Lebanese sources said that the Israeli delegation leader, David Kimche. had said yesterday that Israel did not want to downgrade Lebanese sovereignty and it was only to be expected that the talks' would make slow progress.