Word: militiamen
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...battalion equipped with twelve to 16 artillery pieces and eight or ten Soviet-made T-54 and T-55 tanks. Though the worst of the fighting last week was in the hills, clashes also persisted in areas south of Beirut, especially between Damur and Jiyah, where Druze and Christian militiamen struggled for control of positions close to the main Beirut-Sidon highway...
...roared over Beirut and headed toward the mountains of Lebanon. Only a few hours earlier, Super Etendard strike fighters from the French aircraft carrier Foch had conducted similar exercises. Officially, both the American and French warplanes were on reconnaissance flights. In reality, they were sounding a warning to Druze militiamen in the Chouf Mountains of Lebanon: from that day forward, the planes could be ordered to strike and destroy any artillery that continued to fire at troops of the four-country multinational force. The American, French, Italian and British troops had come as "peace keepers," to shore up the beleaguered...
When TIME Correspondent Barry Hillenbrand visited the area a day later, he found Bhamdun a shambles and deserted, except for Druze soldiers. Roofs had collapsed, window frames were stained black by fires, and smoke curled from several stone villas. Near by, in the Druze town of Sofar, militiamen carried rocket launchers and ammunition to a white Toyota pickup truck from a small stone church that was serving as a supply depot...
...headquarters in Hammana, Druze Leader Jumblatt told Hillenbrand that the multinational force was "no longer keeping the peace" and should "go away." Jumblatt acknowledged that the Syrians were providing support to his militia. He vowed that there would be no cease-fire until all Lebanese Army troops and Christian militiamen had been withdrawn from the Chouf...
...days earlier, when things were going their way, the Muslim militiamen had broadcast over loudspeakers a message to army troops outside the Cadmos Hotel: "To our beloved Lebanese army. We do not want to hurt you. The regime has used you as tools of the Phalangist conspiracy. Do not obey orders! Do not shoot!" It was one of many efforts by the militias to persuade army troops to break ranks by dividing along sectarian lines. Such a development was not unexpected. Earlier hi the summer, a prominent Arab journalist in Beirut had predicted: "If the army has to fight...