Mother and two children killed in Markaba
Lebanon, Politics, 8/8/1997

A pro-Israeli militiaman and four civilians, including a mother and her two children, were killed on August 7 in confrontations. Seven other civilians were wounded.

The violence began in the early morning when a Hizbullah roadside bomb exploded near occupied Jezzine, killing Ghassan Soueidi, an officer in Israeli-proxy South Lebanon Army.

Shortly afterward, Israel fired 40 shells at the front-line village of Kfar Milki in Iqlim al-Toufah.

Ahmmed Hoteit, a 47 year old civilian, was killed; his 93 year old father, Ali, 77 sister Sakna, 35, and two children were wounded.

Ten homes were damaged in the village after a second bombardment later in the same day.

Also simultaneous shelling of the Iqlim al Kharoub village of Joun seriously wounded Slaideh Barbar 27, and Mousse Barbar, 30.

That was a response to an Israeli commando operation in Kfour on August 5 that killed five Hizbullah fighters, as well as to an air-raid in the Bekaa that killed two elderly shepherds.

A total of seven civilians have been killed and 11 wounded in the violence since August 5.

But in the bloodiest attack, a mother and her two children aged four and ten from the Tormos family were killed instantly when a bomb planted on a road in occupied Markaba blew up as they were passing in a car being driven by their neighbor.

The driver was seriously wounded and was taken to a hospital in northern Israel, pro-Israeli sources said. Both Hizbullah and Israel blamed each other for the attack.

SLA-run Voice of the South radio said Hizbullah guerrillas detonated the 1 p.m. bomb by remote control, but Hizbullah denied the charge.

In response Hizbullah accused Israel of planting the bomb as part of a "cover-up" of the Israel's killings of civilians outside the occupied zone.

A meeting by the five-nation committee scheduled for August 6 was postponed because Unifil¹s helicopter fleet was grounded following the crash of one its choppers on August 6, which killed five Italian airmen. The United Nations has said there was no evidence of foul play.

The Lebanese and Syrian delegates refused to travel by land to the meeting at Unifil headquarters in Naqoura as it would involve passing through Israeli checkpoints. The meeting has yet to be rescheduled.

Yesterday¹s clashes came after Hizbullah on August 5 fired some 58 Katyusha rockets at Israeli positions in the occupied zone, several of which reportedly landed in northern Israel.

Previous Stories:
  Katyusha attack launched on Israeli positions in zone   (8/7/1997)
  Five killed in south Lebanon helicopter crash   (8/7/1997)

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