Word: druze
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Tensions between the superpowers, at the same time, were mounting over the Middle East. With U.S. Marines still under fire from Druze rebels and Syrian guns in the hills above Beirut, American warships grew more active in supporting the Lebanese government's beleaguered forces (see WORLD). Both Reagan and Secretary of State George Shultz accused the Soviets of being involved in Syria's largely successful attempts to frustrate international peace-keeping efforts in the faction-torn nation. Said a White House official: "We've seen a significantly increased likelihood of a U.S.-Soviet military confrontation...
...best method" of solving the crisis. Added Cheysson: "If the Americans want to take the place of the Israelis, that is their responsibility, not ours." Three days later, however, after a barrage of rockets fell on French and Italian troops in Beirut, eight French Super Etendard fighters attacked Druze and Syrian gun positions in the mountains. It was the first time the French had joined the combat, and the first time fighter planes of any multinational-force nation had carried out raids...
...latest round of fighting started in early September, when the Israeli army abruptly withdrew its forces to the southern banks of the Awali River, some 17 miles south of Beirut. As the Israelis pulled out of the Chouf Mountains, their positions were quickly occupied and fought over by the Druze militiamen and their enemies, the Christian Phalange militiamen. Reinforced with arms and ammunition from Syria, the Druze promptly trounced the Phalangists and appeared to threaten the Lebanese Army's hold on its own capital. The Druze have enjoyed the support of as many as 2,000 Palestinian guerrillas, some from...
...meantime, the once beautiful capital city and its suburbs endured another week of random violence. The fires in the hills were caused by a four-sided artillery duel whose participants included the Druze and Christian militias, the Lebanese Army and the U.S. Sixth Fleet. Even the U.S. ambassador's residence in the suburb of Yarze took several rounds, which set the garden ablaze and forced Ambassador Robert Dillon to seek refuge in the Presidential Palace, a short distance away...
...airport fence topped with barbed wire divides the encampment from the predominantly Shi'ite shantytown of Hay es Sullum, where bombed-out buildings sometimes shelter Muslim fighters armed with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. In the surrounding hills that rise 3,000 ft. from the plain, Druze and Christian militias clash, igniting the night skies with tracer rounds and exploding shells...