|
To deal with the problems caused by the fighting in the south, a governmental
committee was formed, and funds were allocated for Al Janub Province. On January
12, 1970, the government announced a plan to arm and train Lebanese civilians in
southern villages and to fortify the villages against Israeli raids. This action
was apparently the result of an intentional government policy to avoid
committing the army to action in southern Lebanon, presumably for fear of
polarizing the religious groups that composed the army-- mainly Christian
Maronite officers and Muslim or Druze enlisted personnel. But the problem was
exacerbated by increasing activity by Palestinian guerrillas operating from
southern Lebanon into Israel and by Israeli reprisals.
On January 7, 1970, General Emil Bustani, the army commander, was replaced by
General Jean Njaim, suggesting a government effort to take a harder line toward
the guerrillas and to defend southern Lebanon more actively. Clashes between the
army and the guerrillas recurred, but southern Lebanese villagers continued to
protest governmental inaction. After several bloody clashes between the
guerrillas and the Lebanese Army and a nationwide general strike in May 1970,
the government approved additional appropriations for the defense of the south,
and it pressed the guerrillas to abide by the Cairo Agreement and to limit their
activity.
|
