Syrians Move Into Beirut Slums, Halt Militia War

Hundreds of Syrian soldiers wearing bulletproof vests over combat fatigues moved into the south Beirut slums today, halting a three-week war between rival Shia Muslim militias that killed nearly 300 people.

The intervention, under a Syrian agreement with Iran, is expected to increase pressure for the release of the 18 foreign hostages in Lebanon, who include nine Americans.

Most are believed held in the slums by extremists linked to the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, or Party of God, which gained control of nearly all of south Beirut in the battle with the Amal militia that began May 6.

Hezbollah and Amal, a mainstream group allied with Syria, stopped shooting as the soldiers began moving in at 11 a.m.

900 Troops Advance on Foot

About 900 Syrian infantrymen in three groups advanced on foot into the 16 square miles of tin-roofed huts and cement-block apartments next to the Beirut airport.

They carried machine guns and shoulder-fired grenade launchers. Following the first group of Syrians were 52 Lebanese policemen with automatic rifles.

Syrian soldiers set up five checkpoints along a disengagement line between the Shiyah neighborhood, held by Amal, and the Hezbollah-controlled Ghobeiri district.

The line stretched through two miles of gutted shops, smoldering wrecked cars and bullet-scarred cement-block shanties. Broken power cables dangled on streets littered with glass shards and spent cartridges.

Stares From Hezbollah Fighters

Young Hezbollah fighters on the slum’s fringes stared intently at a group of 20 American and British journalists, who traveled from Damascus with Syrian escorts to cover the deployment.

“I feel like a juicy T-bone steak in front of a hungry man,” one reporter said.

Wailing women on sidewalks and balconies showered the Syrians with rose water and rice in a traditional gesture of welcome.

“Animals! They are all animals, animals killing animals!” a man shouted in English from in front of his shattered house.

He said Hezbollah fighters seized his home from Amal militiamen in the final phase of the battle, which according to police killed a total of 296 people and wounded 1,000.

Refuge for Kidnapers, Killers

Hezbollah had gained control of 90% of the area, which has long been a refuge for kidnapers, hijackers and assassins.

Reporters saw two bulldozers clearing mounds of earth and pushing sandbag barricades from the streets. Syrian specialists defused land mines and unexploded bombs.

Abdul Hadi Hamadi, the Hezbollah security chief in Beirut, said Hezbollah and Amal were withdrawing their fighters from all south Beirut neighborhoods and would put them on the Green Line that separates the capital’s Muslim and Christian sectors.