BEIRUT: Syrian and Lebanese security forces entered west Beiruts battle scarred suburbs today in a major extension of a drive to restore order, witnesses said.
About 150 Lebanese troops and police, backed by Syrian military observers and soldiers, moved into the southern suburbs in jeeps and armored personnel carriers and storied directing traffic and operating flying checkpoints, they said.
The move is aimed at ending militia activity and restoring Lebanese state authority to an area that has seen recurrent battles between Palestinians and Lebanese Shilte Moslems.
I have some sense of relief, said one of the hundreds of residents who took to the streets to see the operation.
Ahmed, a 13yearold boy, distributed flowers to Lebanese and Syrian solders brandishing Soviet and American made assault rifles and rocket propelled grenade launchers. State owned Beirut radio said the force would eventually total 950 men, including 200 Syrian observers and troops. Witnesses said about 10 Syrian troops had taken up position with Lebanese soldiers around one of three Palestinian camps believed to be controlled by fighters loyal to Yasser Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and an enemy of Syria.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 8, 1986
