Beirut Militias Clash Over Flags

Rival militiamen fought a fierce battle for control of West Beirut on Friday, Lebanon’s independence day. The clashes began over whose flag would fly on government buildings.

They pounded each other’s positions with tank cannon, 106-millimeter recoilless rifles and anti-aircraft guns. A thick haze of smoke from burning gas stations and apartment buildings hung over streets.

Gunmen fought from house to house. Police and hospitals said at least 30 people have been killed and 200 wounded since the latest fighting broke out Wednesday.

The warfare swirled around the Commodore Hotel and into the lobby at one point, trapping Anglican envoy Terry Waite and stalling his mission to free Americans held by Lebanese kidnapers.

The day’s fourth cease-fire appeared to take hold at dusk. Rescue teams moved into the streets, expecting to find more dead and wounded.

Militia chiefs toured the battle areas with bullhorns, ordering their men to stop fighting.

Hostilities began when militiamen of the Druze Progressive Socialist Party attacked a Shia Muslim unit of the Lebanese army that was placing Lebanese national flags on public buildings. The Druze strongly oppose the national government and tried to put up their own party flag. The Amal militia joined the battle on the side of the Shias, while Sunni Muslim gunmen supported the Druze fighters.