Lebanon’s Aoun Escapes Syria Bombardment, Flees to Embassy

Under heavy bombardment by Syrian forces, rebel Maj. Gen. Michel Aoun left his fortified headquarters and went to the French Embassy today, asking for a cease-fire, his radio station said.

The attack on his compound in the presidential palace came hours after an assassination attempt against Aoun, who opposes the Syrian-backed government of President Elias Hrawi.

“We have just learned that . . . Gen. Michel Aoun headed for the French Embassy in Hazmiyeh and requested a cease-fire,” Aoun’s radio said. It did not elaborate.

The residential district of Hazmiyeh in Christian East Beirut is less than a mile from the presidential palace.

The bombardment began at daybreak, a witness said.

“The planes made three rocketing sorties at first light, leaving the palace shrouded in a cloud of smoke,” said Mohieddin Habbal, a driver for Associated Press.

“I could not tell whether they were Syrian or Lebanese,” said Habbal, who watched the air action from rooftop of his house in southern Beirut.

Syrian artillery then opened up against the palace in suburban Baabda and the command of Aoun’s estimated 15,000 troops in neighboring Yarze from all directions, Habbal added.

Police, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed the air attack and artillery bombardment, saying the action was setting the stage for a ground thrust to crush Aoun’s rebellion.

Syria has an estimated 40,000 troops in Lebanon.

On Friday, a Shiite Muslim assailant fired at Aoun as he addressed thousands of supporters, but the bullet missed the general and wounded one of his aides, Aoun’s radio station said.

The assassination attempt came shortly after the Syrian army moved thousands of troops toward the enclave for an expected attack on the headquarters of Aoun, who has resisted orders by Lebanon’s government to step down.

Aoun’s radio station said the general’s supporters saw the gunman aiming a pistol at him and pushed him before it went off. The gunman “staggered as the gun went off, wounding an aide standing close to the general,” the broadcast said.

It identified the assailant as an 18-year-old Shiite Muslim from the southern town of Habboush. The radio said he also holds an Australian passport.

The radio said the assailant was questioned by military officials and confessed that he was ordered to kill Aoun. It did not say who gave those orders. The report also did not identify the aide who was hit or describe the extent of his injuries.

The broadcast said the attack came as Aoun talked to his supporters, who have formed a human shield around the presidential palace in the encircled Christian enclave.