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Arafat Loyalists Defy Lebanon Cease-Fire : Cling to Village, Demanding Concessions From Shia Muslim Foes

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From Reuters

Guerrillas loyal to Palestinian chief Yasser Arafat clung to posts in this battle-scarred south Lebanese village Sunday, defying an Iranian-mediated accord to end battles between Palestinians and Shia Muslims.

About 100 Palestinians from Damascus-based groups handed over some positions in Maghdousheh to the pro-Iranian Hezbollah (Party of God) militiamen, who have been neutral in the conflict, but pro-Arafat guerrillas said they had reoccupied them.

“All positions evacuated . . . have been filled again by Palestine Liberation Organization forces,” a PLO official told a reporter. “There will be no withdrawal from Maghdousheh until we receive minimum guarantees.”

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End to Siege Sought

The guarantees, he said, are an end to the siege of the Palestinian refugee camps of Rashidiyeh near Tyre and Chatilla in Beirut by members of the Shia Muslim militia Amal. Talks would then be necessary to define a new basis for Lebanese-Palestinian relations, he added.

A statement by Amal Vice President Akef Haidar, broadcast on local radio stations, accused Arafat’s followers of violating conditions of the truce by reoccupying postions in Maghdousheh.

But he said Amal would continue to abide by the cease-fire to allow more time for the success of the Iranian initiative.

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Peace efforts had already been shaken by frenzied fighting Saturday at refugee camps in Beirut, where police said at least 25 people were killed and 110 wounded.

2 Supervise Withdrawal

An Iranian diplomat, Hassan Satari, and Sheik Maher Hammoud, a Lebanese Sunni Muslim leader, had earlier supervised the withdrawal of anti-Arafat Palestinians, who assembled in a square near a church after leaving their posts.

Palestinian and Amal fighters have battled fiercely for the past three weeks for control of Maghdousheh--perched on a ridge overlooking the port of Sidon--and for two refugee camps, several Shia villages and the main Sidon-Tyre coast road. More than 465 people have been killed and about 1,100 wounded in the fighting.

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