Gemayel home after loyalists’ defeat

Press, 16 January 1986, Page 8

Gemayel home after loyalists’ defeat

NZPA-AP Beirut President Amin Gemayel of Lebanon has returned home from talks with the Syrian President, Hafez Assad, in Damascus after his loyalists were defeated in a bloody feud with a rival Christian militia, leaving him isolated by Christian and Muslim opponents. Troops with M-16 rifles took to the streets at dawn to disengage militiamen and the president’s Phalange Party fighters in the Christian heartland.

The fighting left 21 people dead and more than 60 wounded, according to the police. The 6000-strong Lebanese forces, the Christians’ main

fighting machine, drove Mr Gemayel’s estimated 1000 loyalists out of several east Beirut districts and the foothills to the north and east, bottling them up in Mr Gemayel’s mountain enclave. Mortars, heavy artillery and 106 mm recoilless rifles were used by both sides during the 18-hour battle. The fighting stopped at midnight when the Army said it would intervene. The commander of the Lebanese forces, Elie Hobeika, ordered his fighters to help the Army restore peace. The closest position to Beirut held by Gemayel’s supporters was in Sadd el-Boushrieh on the

north-eastern outskirts. Mr Gemayel, aged 43, left on Monday for the crucial summit with Assad several hours after his opponents launched their offensive against his forces. The Damascus talks focused on a controversial Syrian-sponsored peace accord which Mr Gemayel has refused to endorse, mainly because it was signed by Lebanon’s three main militia chieftains without consulting him. Syrian and Lebanese officials were quiet about the talks, heightening indications that little progress has been made in persuading Mr Gemayel to give the pact his blessing.