Beirut Shelling Continues Despite U.N. Call for Peace

August 17, 1989|From Times Wire Services

On Wednesday night, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati returned to Tehran from Damascus after assuring Syria and its Lebanese allies of his country's support. Velayati met Lebanese and Muslim leftist leaders one by one at the Iranian Embassy in the Syrian capital after presiding over a session with various militia leaders.

Meetings With Militias

Among the militia leaders who took part were Druze leader Jumblatt, Nabih Berri of the Shiite Muslim Amal militia and Ahmed Jibril, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command, a Syrian-based Palestinian group that has been implicated in terrorist incidents. Also attending was Syrian Foreign Minister Farouk Shareh.

Cease-fires in Beirut seldom last, and few Lebanese appeared to believe that the U.N. resolution would have much impact unless the underlying political disputes are solved.

"It seems we are heading for a new confrontation despite this cease-fire call; the militias are back," said Talal Hosseini, watching his janitor fill plastic bags with sand to fortify the entrance of his apartment house.

Another resident, Adla Haroun, commented: "It is yet another call which will go down the drain. If U.N. resolutions were effective, all wars across the world would have ended by now."

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