Two Christian Factions Back Beirut Accord : Lebanon: Papal nuncio announces 5-point agreement to end 4-month conflict in enclave.

BEIRUT — Papal Nuncio Pablo Puente on Saturday announced a five-point agreement to end nearly four months of fighting in Beirut’s Christian enclave but said the pact is only a partial solution.

At a news conference, Puente said rival Christian leaders Maj. Gen. Michel Aoun, who commands a 15,000-strong Lebanese army force, and Samir Geagea, leader of the 10,000-member Lebanese Forces militia, approved his proposed peace agreement.

Aoun and Geagea have been locked in a bitter struggle for control of the 310-square-mile Christian enclave since Jan. 31. The fighting has left more than 1,000 people dead and hundreds wounded.

Puente said a videotaped message that Pope John Paul II sent to Christian religious leaders who met Friday at the Maronite patriarchate in Bkirki, north of Beirut, paved the way for the agreement.

The Pope urged the religious leaders to try to end the inter-Christian violence and called on all Lebanese, Muslims and Christians, to initiate dialogue to end their disputes.

The papal nuncio said Saturday’s agreement calls for a permanent truce, reopening of schools, release of all prisoners through the International Committee of the Red Cross, suspension of media campaigns and halting all military operations.

He said contacts are under way to prevent the resumption of violence and to consolidate the cease-fire, indicating that the agreement and steps that may follow constitute only a “partial solution.”

“A solution to the country’s economic, political and social problems is only possible through an overall settlement of the Lebanese crisis,” he said.

Tens of thousands of Christians have fled the enclave during the battles, and more than 100 schools have been destroyed or damaged.

Also on Saturday, police said clashes resumed between the pro-Syrian Amal militia and Iranian-backed Hezbollah (Party of God) in mostly Muslim West Beirut, leaving at least two civilians wounded.

Amal and Hezbollah have been engaged in intermittent street fighting for the last week. At least 10 people have been killed and 70 wounded in the fighting.