Monitoring committee discusses Lebanese complaints
Lebanon, Military, 12/9/1997

A five-nation cease-fire monitoring committee convened in south Lebanon Tuesday to discuss two complaints by the Lebanese government against Israel.

Lebanon lodged the complaints last week after three civilians were killed in explosions blamed on Israel. Israel denied responsibility and said it did not detonate any bombs.

Lebanese troops and United Nations peace keepers, however, were busy Monday collecting evidence against Israel from the village of Majdel Silem, where the three civilians were killed Friday.

A second complaint over the expulsion last week of a Lebanese-American along with his wife and two children from his home in the Israeli-occupied security zone will be discussed Tuesday.

Nabil Baydoun, 44, who holds an American passport, said militiamen from the Israeli-allied South Lebanon Army threw him and his family out of the village of Bint Jbeil and burned down his house.

Before that, Baydoun claims, SLA militiamen had beaten him up badly and forced him to pay $5,000 cash, or risk getting killed.

Israeli troops frequently expel people from the security zone in south Lebanon which it has occupied since 1985, often accusing them of collaborating with Hizbullah, the guerrilla group fighting to drive out the Israelis.

But Baydoun said he had no idea why the SLA had expelled him, adding that he had worked for 30 years in the United States and wanted to retire in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, fighting continued in south Lebanon as Israeli occupation forces on Monday shelled Al-Hamra farm, Barasheet, Fron, al-Ghandorieh, Rafi' mount, the Litani river, Sujud and al-Rihan woods in the al-Tuffah district. In retaliation, Lebanese resistance forces detonated an explosive charge in the evening when an Israeli mechanized patrol was driving of Rashaf road in the occupied border strip. A statement issued by the resistance front said that the patrol was hit directly and one vehicle was destroyed.

Previous Stories:
  Lebanese resistance attacks occupation positions   (12/8/1997)
  Resistance acts continue in south Lebanon   (12/4/1997)
  Lebanese resistance escalate attacks against Israeli occupation   (11/26/1997)

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