Contras Claim Gains as Yule Truce Nears

Contra rebels claimed major gains today in a drive into Nicaragua’s remote mining region three days before the start of a Christmas truce, but the Defense Ministry said most of the casualties were civilians.

The ministry also said a surface-to-air missile fired by the Contras hit a cargo plane of the state-owned Aeronica airline, wounding four crew members. The plane made an emergency landing at a farm in northeastern Costa Rica and an investigation was begun, according to Costa Rica’s Public Security Ministry.

Despite the offensive, high-level representatives from both the U.S.-financed Contras and Nicaragua’s leftist Sandinista government gathered for a second time in Santo Domingo, capital of the Dominican Republic, to discuss a cease-fire in the 6-year-old civil war.

Both sides already had accepted a Christmas truce proposed for Thursday and Friday by their mediator, Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo. It was not clear what effect the fighting would have on the truce.

The fighting began before dawn Sunday in the gold and silver mining area in the north near the Caribbean coast.

53 Civilians Wounded

A brief government report today said 53 civilians were wounded in the village of Siuna, where it said rebels blew up a gasoline storage tank.

The report said fighting continued in Bonanza village, but all was “under complete control” in Siuna and Rosita.