Syrian Units Enter Beirut to Quell Muslim Fighting

Syrian troops and tanks began moving into embattled West Beirut early today after Lebanese leaders appealed for intervention to end six days of fighting between Muslim factions, official sources in Damascus reported.

“Syrian forces, who have been preparing for this for several hours, are already rolling,” said one Lebanese source in Damascus, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The official Syrian News Agency said that after meeting with Lebanese leaders late Friday, Syrian President Hafez Assad agreed to “provide Syrian military assistance . . . to help impose security and stability” in Muslim West Beirut.

Neither the agency nor the Lebanese sources gave the size of the Syrian force entering the western sector of the Lebanese capital, but one Lebanese official said: “It is adequate to cope with the situation” and includes armor and mechanized infantry.

Evacuated City in 1982

It was the first time Syrian troops had entered Beirut in force since they evacuated the city during Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon. The Syrian soldiers are expected to move as far south as Sidon, 25 miles south of Beirut, Lebanese sources said. A “Green Line” divides the Lebanese capital between Muslim West Beirut and Christian East Beirut.

A communique signed by five Lebanese leaders after the all-day meeting in the Syrian capital said they had appealed for Syrian help to end the factional fighting in West Beirut in which Lebanese officials reported at least 200 people were killed and 400 were wounded since Sunday.

Grenade and sniper fire pinned thousands of civilians in basements and shelters with little food and water. Some telephoned Muslim radio stations to urge a truce. A woman who telephoned the Voice of the Nation radio appealed to the militias:

“I beg you to have mercy on our children who haven’t seen sunlight for six days. We have been living in the dark and cold basements for a week. We need milk for the children, medicines for the sick and food and water for everybody.”

Official Request

The Syrian intervention to stop the fighting was officially requested by Rashid Karami, Lebanon’s premier, and Hussein Husseini, the Speaker of Lebanon’s Parliament, a spokesman for Syrian Vice President Abdul-Halim Khaddam said

The spokesman quoted Khaddam as saying after meeting with the two Lebanese leaders, “The Syrian leadership is very seriously considering the request and is determined to help our people in Lebanon.”

Fighting began last Sunday between the Shia militia Amal, led by Nabih Berri, and a leftist alliance of Walid Jumblatt’s Druze fighters and those of the pro-Moscow Lebanese Communist Party.

Muslim Factions Supported

Syria backs all the Muslim factions, which are nominal allies against the Lebanese Christians in the 12-year-old civil war but often have territorial fights among themselves in the western sector of the Lebanese capital.

Syria, the main power broker in Lebanon, maintains about 25,000 troops in north and east Lebanon under a 1976 Arab League peacekeeping mandate.

The Syrians sent about 500 commandos and a contingent of plainclothes security agents into West Beirut last summer in an unsuccessful effort to end a wave of lawlessness by the various Muslim militias battling each other for domination.

Khaddam had summoned Berri and Jumblatt to their first face-to-face meeting since the latest fighting began, but left out Lebanese Communist Party chief George Hawi, who also was in Damascus. Assem Kansou, leader of the Lebanese branch of Syria’s ruling Baath Party, attended.