Arafat loyalists besieged

Press, 6 July 1988, Page 10

Arafat loyalists besieged

NZPA-Reuter Beirut

Fierce fighting erupted yesterday at a southern Beirut refugee camp, the last stronghold of the Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, in the Lebanese capital, Palestinian sources said.

Artillery, mortar and rocket exchanges rocked Bourj al-Barajneh camp as supporters of Arafat, the chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation, battled proSyrian dissidents.

The battles were the first since the dissidents,

led by Abu Musa, gained control of nearby Shatila camp on June 27 after three months of ferocious intra-Plestinian fighting.

The sources said the battles flared at dawn after Abu Musa guerrillas shelled the alleys of Bourj al-Barajneh. Refugees huddled in basements as the sound of artillery echoed across Beirut. There was no immediate word on the latest casualties from the fighting, which has killed at least 100 people since it erupted in May.

The sources said only 3000 of the original 15,000 inhabitants remained in Bourj al-Barajneh — the fall of Shatila sparked fears that a similar fate awaited them. Arafat has an estimated 1200 guerrillas in the camp with all escape routes blocked by Abu Musa guerrillas. Syrian troops also man positions round the camp. They deployed there and round Shatila last year to end battles between the Palestinians and Shi’ite Muslims.

It was not immediately

clear whether the Abu Musa fighters intended to push into the camp as they did in Shatila.

Political analysts said Abu Musa, supported by Syria since his revolt against Arafat in 1983, aimed to establish control over all Palestinian camps in Beirut.

They said Syria sought to restrict Arafat’s influence to camps in the south so Damascus could consolidate its hold on Lebanon ahead of presidential elections expected by September.