Lebanon Christians Clash Again; Truces Called

The battle for military supremacy in East Beirut and Lebanon’s Christian heartland Thursday roared through a second day of heavy shelling and vicious street fighting, with neither side giving way.

A lightly observed morning truce arranged by Vatican officials collapsed by midday. Army brigades loyal to Christian strongman Maj. Gen. Michel Aoun and the militiamen of the Lebanese Forces fought house to house in neighborhoods in the eastern sector of the Lebanese capital.

Near nightfall, Voice of Lebanon radio, monitored in Nicosia, reported that yet another cease-fire--two failed Wednesday--had been arranged in a direct telephone deal between Aoun and the Lebanese Forces commander, Samir Geagea.

“The two leaders agreed to end the fighting, restore the situation back to normal and stop propaganda campaigns between the two sides,” declared the radio, which is operated by the right-wing Falangist Party. There was no confirmation from Aoun’s bunkered headquarters at the presidential palace at Baabda outside East Beirut, but Beirut press reports said the level of fighting decreased.

The internecine tank and artillery battles, the worst in the fractious Christian camp since the start of Lebanon’s civil war nearly 15 years ago, have killed more than 60 soldiers and civilians in 48 hours, according to the reports. About 250 people were reported wounded.

The fighting was triggered by Aoun’s demand Tuesday that Geagea’s militia forces either lay down their arms or join his army units. The headstrong, U.S.-trained general would likely lose face in the Christian camp if he agreed to withdraw his challenge.

Eight of the dead fell in Muslim-dominated West Beirut when apparently stray shells spilled over the Green Line separating the beleaguered capital. No return fire by Syrian or Muslim militias forces in the west was reported.

According to reports from Beirut, the Lebanese Forces captured a pro-Aoun naval base, an armor depot in the port of Juniyah and the airstrip at Halat, south of Jubayl, which services the general’s minuscule air force.

Elias Hrawi, a Syrian-supported Christian elected president of Lebanon last November under an Arab League political accord shunned by Aoun, called on the general’s loyalists to rebel.

“The army’s mission is to protect the citizens, not to kill them,” Hrawi said in a radio interview.

The new president sacked Aoun shortly after taking office. However, the 54-year-old general, who has struck a popular chord among the Christian populace through his campaign to drive the Syrian army from Lebanon, has refused to budge from Baabda.

In Washington, the State Department on Thursday called again for Aoun to step down.

“Gen. Aoun must realize that his bellicose behavior does not advance the interests of the Christians or any other community . . ., the Washington statement said.