WORLD : 18 Die as Beirut Bombing Widens
Artillery and mortar fire between Christian forces and Muslim and Syrian troops spilled into residential areas today, killing at least 18 people and wounding 120 others, and one Druze warlord said if the fighting continues much longer, Beirut will be wiped off the map.
The latest round of fighting was touched off by Christian military leader Gen. Michel Aoun’s vow to drive an estimated 35,000 Syian troops out of Lebanon.
Druze warlord Walid Jumblatt, in remarks published today, said the Lebanese capital’s future is “very gloomy” as long as Aoun remains in East Beirut. He predicted that “Beirut will face the same fate as that of Stalingrad.” The Soviet city of Stalingrad was fiercely bombed by German forces during World War II until it was virtually destroyed.
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