Palestine Liberation Organization dissidents opposed to Yasir Arafat have captured a section of the Beirut-Damascus highway between the Lebanese mountain resort of Shtoura and the Syrian border, it was reported today. They are now in a position to block the passage of men, food and equipment to El Fatah forces near Beirut.
Heavy fighting was reported between El Fatah, the PLO faction loyal to Arafat, and the dissidents in the Bekaa valley of eastern Lebanon today. Syria was reported to be sending in tanks in support of the anti-Arafat forces.
A meeting of the Fatah Revolutionary Council, called by Arafat in Damascus yesterday to heal the widening breach within the PLO, made no progress because anti-Arafat elements refused to attend. The embattled PLO chief left Damascus for Tripoli in northern Lebanon, taking the long route via Homs in northern Syria instead of the more direct Bekaa valley route, apparently out of fear for his life. Arafat is expected to try to rally his followers in Tripoli.
But that city is embroiled in fighting between pro and anti-Syrian elements. Seven Syrian soldiers, including two colonels, were killed in a gun and bomb ambush in Tripoli yesterday. Three Syrian soldiers were killed earlier when their munitions truck blew up, reportedly an accident.
A roadside bomb exploded near an Israel army post at Shuafat on the outskirts of Beirut yesterday but caused no casualties. The civil war within the PLO has greatly reduced the incidence of attacks on Israeli troops in Lebanon.
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