Lebanon’s Rival Shiite Forces Unite Against French

Rival Shiite Muslim militias said Thursday that they had united against a French naval force off Lebanon, and the radical Hezbollah faction said its response will “horrify everybody” if the warships approach.

Hezbollah, or Party of God, did not say what it would do, but it has threatened suicide attacks on Western targets and is believed to sponsor Shiite gangs that hold most of the 14 Western hostages.

Hezbollah and Amal, a more moderate Shiite militia, have fought a bloody power struggle for 16 months but said they were joining forces against “this American-Israeli-French plot.”

Police said one person was killed and three were wounded in shelling along the line that divides the capital into Muslim West Beirut and the Christian eastern sector.

Skirmishes along the line have occurred daily since an artillery war began March 8 between the 20,000 members of Maj. Gen. Michel Aoun’s Christian army and a Muslim alliance led by the 40,000 Syrian soldiers in Lebanon.

Lebanese military sources said French vessels were cruising 40 miles off Lebanon. The French say the ships are on a “humanitarian mission,” to evacuate the French citizens in Lebanon if necessary.