Christian force holds fire
NZPA-Reuter Beirut
Syrian gunners and their Lebanese allies defied an Arab League ceasefire call and blasted Christian areas of the city, but a leading Christian force vowed not to retaliate unless the shelling continued. Security sources said about 200 shells hit the Christian enclave — east Beirut and a swath of mountain and coastline north of the capital — yesterday. The shelling killed seven people and wounded 24, bringing the casualty toll in two weeks of artillery battles between
mainly Christian army troops and Syria and its Muslim allies to 86 dead and 284 injured. Major-General Michel Aoun, who heads a military government in the Christian sector and had accepted the leagua’s ceasefire call earlier yesterday, told reporters his regular Army troops would hold their fire for the time being.
“We are not retaliating, to give time for the Lebanese to see for themselves that there is no way but resistance against Syria which is incapable of holding dialogue,” he said.
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Press, 31 March 1989, Page 6
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163Christian force holds fire Press, 31 March 1989, Page 6
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