Samir Geagea

Right-wing gunners of Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces militia knocked rebel Maj. Gen. Michel Aoun's television station off the air in renewed fighting. Aoun's command said the antenna at his station in the mountain town of Beit Meri took direct hits in the artillery bombardment by Geagea's forces. Meanwhile, 20 Maronite Catholic bishops met with Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, then issued an appeal for a cease-fire in the power struggle between the two Christian rivals.

When the warlord finally tried to repent, no one would accept his apology. They'd already formed their opinion of Samir Geagea, once the leader of a fearsome Christian militia. His supporters loved him regardless of what he did. And his rivals and enemies would never see him as anything but a caricature of the excesses, brutality and impunity of Lebanon's civil war. But there are twists to Geagea's tale.

A leading Christian warlord said the newly formed government is incapable of ending Lebanon's civil war because of its strong tilt toward Syria. Rightist warlord Samir Geagea, commander of the mainly Maronite Catholic Lebanese Forces, the Christians' main militia, also appealed for urgent Arab League intervention to rescue a peace plan it brokered to reconcile Lebanon's warring factions.

A leading Christian warlord said the newly formed government is incapable of ending Lebanon's civil war because of its strong tilt toward Syria. Rightist warlord Samir Geagea, commander of the mainly Maronite Catholic Lebanese Forces, the Christians' main militia, also appealed for urgent Arab League intervention to rescue a peace plan it brokered to reconcile Lebanon's warring factions.

A crowd of 200 unarmed Christian civilians formed a human buffer between rival Christian forces for the second straight day in a bid to stop months of bitter fighting in Lebanon. The Christian Maronite residents of the resort town on Qlaiaat, 12 miles northeast of Beirut, set up a makeshift church in the middle of town and prayed loudly for peace along the battle front line. Troops loyal to the Christian strongman, Maj. Gen.

A car packed with 220 pounds of TNT exploded today near a hospital in Christian East Beirut where a Christian leader was recovering from an assassination attempt. Police said 19 people were killed and 100 wounded. Civil Defense official Elie Honein said the explosive-laden Mercedes-Benz sedan exploded at 10:03 a.m. on a busy street in Dora, near the St. Joseph hospital and opposite a gasoline station, causing huge fires.

Christian militias who demand an end to Syrian influence in the Lebanese government seized the last Beirut position of Amin Gemayel's loyalists Friday. Syria said it would not accept mutiny against the embattled president, and the rebels asked for negotiations. Rebel militiamen fired on Lebanese army units making the first attempt to end the three-day-old uprising.

Syrian President Hafez Assad sent a personal envoy to Lebanon on Thursday in an apparent effort to help resolve an uprising in the nation's Christian community. Lebanon's state radio reported that Maj. Gen. Mohammed Kholi, Assad's national security adviser, met with Lebanese President Amin Gemayel in suburban Baabda. Schools remained closed in the Christian areas of the city and its suburbs, but most shops reopened after a one-day closure because of the crisis.

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.

A rifle-fired grenade slammed into a school bus and exploded during Christian factional fighting Wednesday, killing 11 schoolchildren and at least four other people. A police spokesman said the bus was hit while crossing into mostly Christian East Beirut in the afternoon. It was bringing children back from school in southern Beirut. The grenade ignited the fuel tank. "It couldn't be determined who fired the rifle grenade," said the spokesman, who declined to be identified.

I wonder if there is room for an opposing view on Jerry Hulse's Santa Fe in the June 3 Travel Section? My husband and I finally succumbed to the annual hype on Santa Fe and Taos, and last month we spent a week there wondering what all the hoopla was about. Santa Fe is the Tijuana of New Mexico. The shops are a boring succession of the identical merchandise (jewelry, pottery, and the like), with prices on the same items varying from 20% to 50%. Buyer beware!

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.

A crowd of 200 unarmed Christian civilians formed a human buffer between rival Christian forces for the second straight day in a bid to stop months of bitter fighting in Lebanon. The Christian Maronite residents of the resort town on Qlaiaat, 12 miles northeast of Beirut, set up a makeshift church in the middle of town and prayed loudly for peace along the battle front line. Troops loyal to the Christian strongman, Maj. Gen.

A rifle-fired grenade slammed into a school bus and exploded during Christian factional fighting Wednesday, killing 11 schoolchildren and at least four other people. A police spokesman said the bus was hit while crossing into mostly Christian East Beirut in the afternoon. It was bringing children back from school in southern Beirut. The grenade ignited the fuel tank. "It couldn't be determined who fired the rifle grenade," said the spokesman, who declined to be identified.

Right-wing gunners of Samir Geagea's Lebanese Forces militia knocked rebel Maj. Gen. Michel Aoun's television station off the air in renewed fighting. Aoun's command said the antenna at his station in the mountain town of Beit Meri took direct hits in the artillery bombardment by Geagea's forces. Meanwhile, 20 Maronite Catholic bishops met with Patriarch Nasrallah Sfeir, then issued an appeal for a cease-fire in the power struggle between the two Christian rivals.

Caught in a deadly ring of armor and artillery, Lebanon's main Christian militia lashed back Saturday at rival army forces, pouring tank fire on an isolated helicopter base. The Lebanese Forces attack on an estimated 750 army defenders at the Adma base near Juniyah, north of Beirut, swung the two-week-long struggle to another front. Later Saturday, the warring Christian factions declared a cease-fire. Up to now, however, more than 10 such truces between the army troops of Maj. Gen.

Caught in a deadly ring of armor and artillery, Lebanon's main Christian militia lashed back Saturday at rival army forces, pouring tank fire on an isolated helicopter base. The Lebanese Forces attack on an estimated 750 army defenders at the Adma base near Juniyah, north of Beirut, swung the two-week-long struggle to another front. Later Saturday, the warring Christian factions declared a cease-fire. Up to now, however, more than 10 such truces between the army troops of Maj. Gen.

At least 27 people were killed and more than 100 wounded Tuesday when a car bomb exploded in a Christian neighborhood of East Beirut. The explosion set fire to a seven-story office building, blew in the fronts of dozens of shops on the busy commercial street and crushed 20 cars like toys. A police bomb expert said the Mercedes-Benz 250 that was used in the explosion contained about 550 pounds of plastic explosive.

A car packed with 220 pounds of TNT exploded today near a hospital in Christian East Beirut where a Christian leader was recovering from an assassination attempt. Police said 19 people were killed and 100 wounded. Civil Defense official Elie Honein said the explosive-laden Mercedes-Benz sedan exploded at 10:03 a.m. on a busy street in Dora, near the St. Joseph hospital and opposite a gasoline station, causing huge fires.

At least 27 people were killed and more than 100 wounded Tuesday when a car bomb exploded in a Christian neighborhood of East Beirut. The explosion set fire to a seven-story office building, blew in the fronts of dozens of shops on the busy commercial street and crushed 20 cars like toys. A police bomb expert said the Mercedes-Benz 250 that was used in the explosion contained about 550 pounds of plastic explosive.