Christian Militia Factions Clash in Beirut; 29 Die

Heavy fighting between rival factions of Christian militias in Beirut on Saturday left at least 29 dead and 90 wounded, according to reports from Christian-controlled media and hospital sources.

The fighting, centered in East Beirut, began at dawn when Syrian-backed Muslim and Christian militiamen, fortified with tanks and troop carriers, crossed from West Beirut. It is believed to be the first time in this country’s 11 years of civil war that armed forces from the Muslim-dominated west side had thrust into the Christian sector of the Lebanese capital.

The attack appeared to be an attempt to reimpose the rule of Elie Hobeika, the ousted commander of the Lebanese Forces, the main Christian militia in East Beirut.

The Lebanese Forces accused the Syrian military intelligence chief in Lebanon, Brig. Ghazi Kanaan, of carrying out Saturday’s offensive with the help of militiamen from Shia Muslim Amal movement.

“The designs of the offensive have now been unveiled,” a statement from the Lebanese Forces, broadcast on the Voice of Lebanon radio, said. “Syria is trying to extend its domination and occupation into East Beirut. But the situation is being dealt with.”

Leaders of Amal and pro-Syrian officials of the Lebanese Baath Party denied they were involved in the offensive. However, vegetable vendors in neighborhoods just west of the Green Line, which separates the Muslim and Christian sectors of the Lebanese capital, said they had seen local Muslim fighters escorting Hobeika loyalists through those areas.

Lebanese photographers encountered Syrian intelligence agents on the western side of the Green Line, but there was no proof of direct Syrian involvement.

After five hours of house-to-house fighting on Saturday, the Lebanese army, which intervened with fighter jets, artillery and mortars, joined Samir Geagea’s Lebanese Forces militiamen in repelling the attack. At midday, as street battles raged, two army jets flew low over the city dropping tear gas which, according to some reports, was meant to disorient the attackers.

Lebanese Forces commander Geagea announced at 5 p.m. that his militia had regained “complete control of the areas that were infiltrated in the morning.” But Muslim-controlled radio stations quoted an unnamed spokesman for Hobeika as saying their forces had captured large sectors of East Beirut and were closing in on Geagea’s headquarters, the Associated Press reported.

Defeated in January

Hobeika was defeated Jan. 15 by anti-Syrian Christian militiamen led by his then chief of staff Geagea and by Falangist followers of President Amin Gemayel. The coup dealt a severe blow to a Syrian-engineered militia peace accord signed in December by Hobeika and Muslim militia leaders. The breakdown led to a prolonged estrangement between Gemayel and the Syrian government.

The Hobeika offensive was the first major outbreak of fighting since Muslim and Christian Cabinet ministers met Sept. 2, for the first time in nine months and agreed on a general truce. Their last meeting was Tuesday and no date was set for the next session.

The attack also came amid forecasts of a possible summit between Gemayel and his Syrian counterpart, Hafez Assad.

The Damascus government dispatched troops here last July for a Syrian-designed security plan meant to bolster the Lebanese Army and police and to bring order back to the anarchy-ridden west side of Beirut.

The intervention of the Lebanese Army in Saturday’s fighting and its successful containment of the violence will boost its standing among a population that has grown tired of bickering and instability in the force.

One resident said he felt comforted when Army tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled down the street. Lebanese President Gemayel met with top Army commanders Saturday evening to discuss the developments.

Earlier in the day, the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp. had aired footage of Lebanese Army forces combing East Beirut, where heavy fighting had damaged high-rise buildings and smashed parked cars.

A police officer and a Lebanese soldier were killed and four others were wounded in the fighting, the Voice of Lebanon radio station said. The same station reported that the Lebanese Forces had arrested 50 men, including 15 members of Shia Muslim organization Hezbollah (Party of God.)