Combat Toll 154 in Beirut’s Shia Slums : Fighting in 4th Day Despite Syrian Army Orders to Stop Carnage

BEIRUT — Rival militias fought hand-to-hand Monday for control of southern Beirut’s Shia Muslim slums and rained shells on each other’s positions in the grim shantytowns in spite of Syrian army orders to stop the carnage.

Police said that 65 people were killed and 150 wounded Monday, bringing total casualties in the Shia territorial war to 154 dead and 367 wounded. Fighting began Friday between the moderate Amal militia, which has Syria’s backing, and the radical, pro-Iranian Hezbollah (Party of God).

The thunder of shellfire rolled over the city all day Monday and into the night. Gunmen atop racing ambulances fired into the air to clear traffic so the wounded could reach hospitals. Radio stations appealed for blood donations.

Doctors confirmed allegations by both sides that wounded fighters were dragged from ambulances and hospitals and slaughtered by their rivals.

Brig. Gen. Ghazi Kenaan, Syrian military intelligence chief in Lebanon, said he had told both factions to stop fighting.

“It is impermissible to let the current state of affairs continue,” he told reporters after meetings with government, religious and militia leaders.

Asked whether Syrian troops would intervene, he said: “We hope it won’t come to that, but we shall not allow the bloodshed to continue.” Syria has 25,000 soldiers in Lebanon, 7,500 of them in Beirut, and it is the main power broker here after 13 years of civil war.

With Syria’s blessing, Amal crushed Hezbollah units last month in predominantly Shia south Lebanon. The four-day battle there cost 62 lives and 150 people were wounded.

Among Monday’s victims here were three Amal militiamen killed with axes. Their bodies were taken to Beirut’s American University Hospital. Officials there said it was full to capacity and could not handle more casualties.

An Amal spokesman said privately that the three “were axed to death after they were taken prisoner by Hezbollah.”

The continuing battle for control of Beirut’s southern slums, where an estimated 250,000 Shias live, raised fears about the fate of 18 foreign hostages. They include nine Americans, most of whom are believed held by Hezbollah-affiliated kidnapers in the 16-square-mile Shia enclave.