Israeli soldiers, continuing their efforts to restore peace between warring factions in the Shouf mountain area of Lebanon, are trying persuasion rather than direct intervention. Soldiers in jeeps patrolling villages in the region use their loud-speakers to urge both sides to observe the cease fire.
In the last two days, 16 Lebanese were killed and many more wounded in fighting between Christians and Druze, according to local sources. Four Lebanese soldiers were among the dead and six were wounded when their convoy was caught in cross-fire on the Beirut-Damascus highway.
According to local sources, Druze villagers opened fire on Christian Phalangists who, a day earlier, had fired at Druze villagers. Eight Christians and two Druze were killed in the exchange. Attempts are being made to restore normalcy in the Shouf mountain villages. A water pumping station damaged by artillery fire has been put back in service. But many villages remain without electricity because power lines knocked down by artillery and mortar fire have not been repaired.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
