The World - News from May 16, 1988

Fierce fighting broke out between rival Shia Muslim militias in Beirut’s southern slums, despite a warning from the Syrian army that it would move into the devastated area. The roar of tank, artillery, rock and mortar fire thundered across the Lebanese capital. Clashes between the Syrian-backed Shia Amal militia and pro-Iranian Hezbollah (Party of God) fighters have claimed more than 200 lives during a 10-day blood bath. Thousands of Syrian troops and about 500 tanks and armored vehicles massed around the labyrinthine slums, where Hezbollah fighters have taken the upper hand against the Amal forces. Amal sources said that Syrian troops would move into the area today. Lebanese officials, with whom the Syrians had met, said the movement could occur in a “day or two.”