Nicaragua Units Attack Contras as Truce Ends

Troops loyal to the leftist Sandinista government attacked U.S.-backed Contra guerrillas just hours after President Daniel Ortega ended a 19-month truce, a military spokeswoman said today.

But the spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Rosa Pazos, denied that any large-scale operations were involved, and said most of the action was concentrated on rebels sneaking into Nicaragua from neighboring Honduras.

“These are military operations against mercenary forces that have been infiltrating,” she added.

Pazos said most of the action is concentrated in the regions where the bulk of an estimated 2,500 Contras are scattered.

Pazos also confirmed a report by the Sandinista National Liberation Front newspaper Barricada that an army company backed by militias mounted the first attack against a group of about 30 Contras in the area around Quilali.

She said the attack took place Wednesday, about two hours after Ortega announced he would not renew the cease-fire, but refused to pinpoint the area. She said she did not have immediate reports of casualties.

In Washington, the White House said today it is unrealistic to expect the Contras to lay down their arms when the leftist Sandinista government is out “to destroy them” by breaking the cease-fire.

Presidential spokesman Marlin Fitzwater said the United States still backs the regional peace accord that calls for the Contras to voluntarily disband by Dec. 5 and return to their homeland if they so desire. But he also indicated that this support made conditional by President Ortega’s decision to restart the war.

“You can’t ask people to repatriate themselves into a climate where they’re threatened with death,” the spokesman told reporters. “I don’t think anybody expects demobilization to proceed as long as the Sandinistas are on the offensive attack to try to destroy them.”

Meanwhile today, the House adopted, 379 to 29, a Senate-passed resolution that condemned Ortega for canceling the cease-fire and opposed any effort to cancel or delay national elections scheduled for next Feb. 25.