Chronology January 16, 1986-April 15, 1986

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Source: Middle East Journal, Vol. 40, No. 3 (Summer, 1986), pp. 479-504
Published by: Middle East Institute
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4327369 .
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January 16, 1986-April 15, 1986
ABBREVIATIONS:
AN, Arab News
CSM, Christian Science Monitor
FBIS, Foreign BroadcastInformationService
Daily Report-Middle East & North Africa and
South Asiak
JP, TheJerusalemPost
LM, Le Monde
MEED, MiddleEast EconomicDigest
MEES, MiddleEast EconomicSurveyt
NYT, The New YorkTimes
TDN, TurkishDaily News
WP, The WashingtonPost
Arab-IsraeliConflict
(See also, Lebanon)
1986
Jan. 16:An Israelisoldierwas woundedby a bomb
nearMetullain the Israelisecurityzone in southern
Lebanon. [1/17JP]
Jan. 17: The JerusalemPost reportedthat a mili-
tary police investigation had determined that a
candle had caused the fire that killedeight soldiers
in an artillerycorps campin the Gaza Stripin Dec.
1985. [1/17JP]
Jan. 18: Assistant Secretary of State Richard
Murphymet in London with Jordan'sKing Hus-
sein in an effortto encouragethe stalematedpeace
process, and was scheduled to fly later to the
Haguefor talks with IsraeliPrimeMinisterShimon
Peres. [1/19 NYT]
SephardiChiefRabbiMordechaiEliahusaid the
sale or lease of propertyto a non-Jewin Israelwas
forbiddenaccordingto Halacha. [1/19JP]
Jan. 19: Israelipolice stoppeda dozen membersof
the right-wing Kach movement from entering
Jerusalem's Temple Mount with an Israeli flag.
Two were arrested. [1/22FBIS]
Jan. 20: Israeli television reportedthat an Israeli
soldiermissingin action in Lebanonwas alive and
being held in Damascus. [1/21 FBIS]
THE MIDDLEEAST JOURNAL, VOLUME40, NO. 3, SUMMER1986.
J3
C
k
Housing Minister David Levi announced the
renewal of constructionof the Jewish quarterof
Hebron. [2/7 FBIS]
Israeliauthoritiesimposeda restrictiveorderon
journalistYusuf Jubbaof al-Bireh.[1/22 FBIS]
Jan. 23: Syrian officials denied reports that they
were holdingIsraelisoldiers missingin Lebanon.
Egypt's charge d'affairesin Tel Aviv, Muham-
mad Bassyuni, said his government would not
releaseto Israelits specialreporton the Ras Burqa
affairin which an Egyptianofficerkilled a number
of Israelis. [1/24JP]
Jan. 26: Israeli MinisterEzer Weizmanmet with
EgyptianPresidentHusni Mubarakin Cairo in an
effort to persuade him to meet with Peres and
restorenormalrelationsbetween Egypt and Israel.
[1/27JP]
Jan. 28: Jerusalemradiosaid a fatherand daughter
from Dura, Lebanon, had been shot the night
before for cooperating with Israeli authorities.
[1/30FBIS]
Jan. 29: IsraeliwarplanesbombedthreePalestinian
guerrillabases near Sidon, killingone person and
woundingfour.
A man with JordanianArmy papers infiltrated
the Israeli-occupiedWest Bank near the Shadmot
Mehola collective and ambushedan Israeli Army
foot patrol, killingtwo soldiers and woundingtwo
others. He was shot dead. [1/30WP]
479
Jan. 30: An Israeli police intelligenceofficer was
killed in a machine-gunattack at the JaffaGate in
Jerusalem.Two other Israeliswere wounded.[1/30
WP]
The elite PLO commando group Force 17
claimedresponsibility.[1/30 FBIS]
Sabri al-Banna's Fatah RevolutionaryCouncil
also claimed responsibility for the attack. [1/31
FBIS]
The Jerusalem Post said police believed the
killing was connected to Arab "underworldfig-
ures" whom the police officer had information
about. [1/31JP]
An Israeli militarycourt in Lod sentenced six
Palestiniansto prisontermsof eight to 23 years for
placingbombs in Jerusalemlast year. [1/31AN]
Police sources said terrorist acts inside Israel
increased32.6 per cent in 1985over the numberin
1984.
Al-Hamishmar reported that Israeli-appointed
MayorZafiral-Masriof Nablus had returnedfrom
a trip to Amman during which he had obtained
Jordanianrecognitionof his appointment,as well
as Jordanianaid. [1/30FBIS]
Jan. 31: Three residents of the West Bank were
deportedto Jordanfor "subversion."[1/31FBIS]
The US vetoed a UN SecurityCouncilresolution
,.strongly deploring"the incidents in the al-Aqsa
mosque earlierin the month. [2/1 AN]
Feb. 4: Israeli planes intercepteda Libyan Arab
Airlinesjet enroutefrom Tripolito Damascusand
forced it to land at an airfieldin northernIsrael.
The plane was suspected of carrying terrorists,
accordingto Israeli Army radio, but when it was
learnedthatthe passengerswere Syrianpoliticians,
they were released, and the plane took off. [2/4
FBIS]
Feb. 5: Rabin defended the interception of the
Libyan airlinerand said Israel would continue to
use "unconventional"measuresto combatterror-
ism. SyrianBaathpartyofficialAbdallahal-Ahmar,
who was aboardthe plane, said Syria was consid-
ering 'suitablemeasuresto answerthe Israeliact
of piracy." [2/6 NYT]
InternationalRed Cross officials sharply criti-
cized Israel's expulsion of Palestiniansas "com-
pletely illegal." [2/6 JP]
An Israeli delegationarrivedin Cairoto resume
talks on the Taba issue. [2/5 FBIS]
Feb. 6: At a news conference in Tripoli, Popular
Front for the Liberationof Palestine(PFLP)Gen-
eral Command Secretary General Ahmad Jibril
said Palestinianresistencegroupswere planningto
"take appropriatemeasures" to respond to the
interceptionof the Libyanplane. [2/6 FBIS]
Talks between PLO leader Yasir Arafat and
Jordan's King Hussein on peace efforts ended
inconclusivelyafter two weeks. [2/7 WP]
Feb. 8: Peres said the Hussein-Arafattalks had
been a "devastatingfailure"and that Israel would
proceed to give inhabitantsof the occupiedterrito-
480
ries more control over their lives until a formal
agreementwas reached. ForeignMinisterYitzhak
Shamirand Defense MinisterYitzhak Rabin sub-
sequently said they opposed "unilateral auton-
omy." [2/10FBIS]
Feb. 9: An Israeli military spokesperson denied
statementsby PresidentAmin Gemayel and other
Lebaneseauthoritiesthat Israel had annexedparts
of southernLebanonin an attemptto divert water
from the LitaniRiver. [2/10FBIS]
Feb. 10: Peres said his plan for the occupied
territories was not "unilateral autonomy" but
"devolution," and that the occupants should be
entrustedwith the developmentof waterresources
and "means of sustenance." He stressed that the
IsraeliArmyshouldremainin the territories.Likud
politicians,PLOofficials,andPalestinianleadersin
the West Bank denouncedthe Peres proposals.
Israeli authoritiessaid they had decided to up-
root all trees, and plow underall agriculturalareas
cultivatedby Arabs in "state-ownedland" along
the "GreenLine" separatingIsraelfrom the occu-
pied territories. "Several thousand" olive trees
and about 10,000dunamsof agriculturalland are
slated for destruction.[2/l1 FBIS]
Feb. 12: Talks between Israeli and Egyptiandele-
gations on the Taba issue resumedin Tel Aviv.
Jerusalemradiosaid the IsraeliNavy chased and
captureda "suspicious"Turkishboat off the Gaza
coast. Crew members said the captain had been
killed by shots fired by Israelis duringthe chase.
[2/12FBIS]
The TurkishDaily News said the vessel hadbeen
swept off course from Cyprus to Lebanon by
strongcurrents.The ship's 8 crew memberswere
detainedfor questioning.[2/13TDN]
A Palestinianyouthwas sentencedto 15years in
prison for wounding two Jewish settlers in the
occupiedterritoriesin 1983. [2/13AN]
Feb. 13: Arafat met with Mubarakin Cairo to
discuss US peace proposals. He said his talks in
Jordanhad been suspendeddue to "US intransi-
gence and bias" towardIsrael.
Six people were injuredwhen a bomb exploded
on a bus near Tel Aviv. Force 17 claimedrespon-
sibility. [2/14FBIS]
Israeli PresidentChaimHerzog grantedpardon
to two anti-Arabterroristsconvicted of plottingto
blow up Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.[2/15 AN]
Feb. 15: Israeli troops in Gaza shot and killed an
Arab man who fled after being detainedfor ques-
tioning.
In Lebanon,The Organizationof the Oppressed
said it had killed one of its Jewish hostages. [2/16
WP]
A Jordanianreportsent to the UN claimedIsrael
confiscated 46,479 dunams of Arab land in the
occupiedterritoriesin the last four monthsof 1985.
[2/16AN]
Feb. 16: Newsweek reportedthat Peres and Rabin
had met on separateoccasions with King Hussein
in fall 1985. [2/17JP]
The body of Lebanese Jew IbrahimBenisti was
found in Beirut. [2/17 NYT]
Feb. 17: Israeli authoritiesappointedIbrahimAbu
Hamadmayorof Yatta, near Hebron. [2/18FBIS]
Two Israelisoldiersand a South LebanonArmy
(SLA) member were kidnappedin an ambush in
which two SLA soldiers died near Bint Jubayl in
Israel's security zone in southernLebanon. [2/18
JP]
Feb. 18: Hundredsof Israelitroops continuedair,
ground,and naval operationsin the searchfor the
captured soldiers. The Islamic Resistance Front
threatenedto kill one of the capturedsoldiers if
Israeli troops did not withdrawwithin 24 hours.
[2/19NYT]
An Israelisoldierdied afterhis boat came under
fire off the coast of Tyre. [2/18 FBIS]
Feb. 19: The Islamic Resistance Front said it had
killed one of the Israeli soldiers.
The Organizationof the Oppressedsaid it had
killed a Jewish hostage, Dr. Elie Hallak, in retali-
ation for the Israeli crackdown.[2/20NYT]
KingHussein said he hadbrokenoff his yearlong
joint effort with the PLO, and that Arafat had
"broken his word" after the king extracted key
concessions from the US regardingPLO participa-
tion in an internationalconference. Israeliofficials
welcomed the announcement.[2/20WP]
Feb. 20: US State Departmentofficialsblamedthe
breakoffof PLO-Jordanian talks on "the failureof
the PLO leadershipto meet the king's challenge,"
but said the peace process was not dead. [2/21WP]
UN Secretary-GeneralJavier Perez de Cuellar
appealed to Israel to withdrawits troops and to
exercise maximumrestrainttoward Lebanese ci-
vilians. [2/23AN]
An Amal statementreportedby Beirutradiosaid
nine Amal memberswere killedand 17woundedin
clashes with the Israelis.
Radio Monte Carlo reported that Arafat had
asked Palestiniansnot to adopt a position on the
Hussein speech for the time being. PLO official
Faruq Qaddumi said the Palestinians "cherish"
their "special relations with fraternal Jordan."
[2/21 FBIS]
An Israeli soldier was killed in an ambush by
Shi'i gunmen outside the village of Srifa during
Israeli search operations.[2/21JP]
Israeli tanks, artillery, and helicopters report-
edly poundedSrifaas guerrillasfoughtwith assault
rifles and antitankgrenadelaunchers.[2/21CSM]
Feb. 21: Israeli troops and tanks stormed Kafr
Dunim, five miles north of the security zone.
Seventy villagemen were roundedup for question-
ing. A GhanaianUNIFIL soldier was wounded.
[2/22 NYT]
Following reports that the US had agreed to
invite the PLO to an internationalpeace confer-
ence if it accepted the UN resolutions,recognized
Israel, and renounced terrorism, Israeli officials
requested"clarifications"of the US position. [2/25
FBIS]
Feb. 22: The IsraeliArmy thinnedout its forces in
southernLebanonand withdrewmost of its mech-
anized infantryunits inside the security zone. An
Israeli Army spokesmansaid between 50 and 100
Lebanese were still being held for questioning.
[2/22WP]
Husseincalledon the Palestiniansto decide who
should lead them in order to prevent creeping
annexation of their land by Israel. He said he
would "respect"theirdecision to keep the PLO as
theirsole legitimaterepresentative,but would also
welcome another "apparatus" to express their
wishes. [2/23NYT]
US officials said there was no change in US
policy toward the PLO, in which "under certain
conditions"the PLO could be a partnerto negoti-
ations. [2/25FBIS]
Feb. 24: Shamirsaid Israel opposed the US posi-
tion on possible negotiationswith the PLO.
Palestinianleadersmeetingin Baghdadreleased
a statement welcoming Arafat's rejection of UN
Resolutions242 and 338. [2/25 FBIS]
Israeli authorities released 11 Shi'i prisoners
arrestedduringtheir search for the two soldiers.
[2/25WP]
Feb. 25: At a meeting with 30 prominent West
Bankers, Rabin said a Jordanian-Palestinian dele-
gation could include "anyone" from the occupied
territories"withoutqualification,"but that Pales-
tiniansfrom the diasporacould only participateif
they did not belong to the PLO. [2/27JP]
Police arrested18 villagersfrom MajdalShams,
in the Golan Heights, duringa violent demonstra-
tion againsta visit by Peres.
Fatah CentralCommitteememberSalah Khalaf
said Hussein had "cancelled" his agreementwith
the PLO and said there will be "no agreementand
no Jordanian-Palestinian relations while there are
attemptsto bypass the PLO." [2/26 FBIS]
Feb. 26: Israeliradioreportedthat there had been
pro-Arafat demonstrations the week before at
Bethlehemand al-Najahuniversities.[2/26 FBIS]
An Israeli officer was killed and four Israeli
soldierswere woundedin a clash with guerrillasin
the Lebanese securityzone. [2/27 FBIS]
Israeli Army Chief of Staff Lieut. Gen. Moshe
Levy said some of the 170 Lebanese prisoners
seized the week before had been transferredto
Israel. [2/28NYT]
Feb. 28: An Israelisoldierwas killedby a Commu-
nist partyambushnear JabalBasil. [3/6 FBIS]
March 1: The WashingtonPost reported allega-
tions by Lebanese villagers that SLA militiamen
had used torture in interrogatingthem as to the
whereaboutsof the missingIsraelisoldiersand had
looted their homes. [3/1 WP]
481
March2: The JerusalemPost reportedthat Israeli
authorities had stopped at the Israeli border an
infiltrationattempt by Palestinianguerrillaswho
were wearing Israeli Army uniforms and who
plannedto take civilian hostages.
Israeli-appointedNablus Mayor Zafir al-Masri
was assassinatedby a gunman.In Damascus, the
PFLP claimed responsibility,saying al-Masrihad
taken partin "the Zionist-Jordanian plan aimedat
liquidatingthe Palestiniancause." In Beirut, the
Al-FatahRevolutionaryCouncilof Abu Nidal also
claimed responsibility. The PLO's news agency
said the assassination was an Israeli plot, and
Arafat supporters emphasized that al-Masri had
had PLO support.Peres called the killing"a blow
to the residents of the territoriesand to whoever
wishes to see progress." [3/3 NYT]
March 3: About 50,000 Palestiniansattended al-
Masri's funeral in Nablus in one of the largest
nationalistdemonstrationsin the West Bank since
the Israeli occupation.
Earlier, Israeli troops shot a Palestinian man
outside Nablus whom they said had attacked a
soldier trying to break up a violent protest. [3/4
CSM]
Two prominentpro-Jordanians,NadaynZaruof
Ramallah,and WalidMustafaHamadof al-Bireh,
withdrewtheir candidaciesfor mayoraltiesin the
wake of al-Masri'sassassination.[3/4 JP]
Thirty-two administrativedetainees were re-
leased on the West Bank over the previous three
days. [3/3 FBIS]
March4: The Tabatalksresumedin Cairobetween
Israeliand Egyptiandelegations.[3/5 JP]
Beirutradio said southernLebanese carriedout
Amalleader Nabih Berri'scall for a generalstrike
to commemoratetwo resistance fighterskilled by
Israelibombardmentsin Maraka.[3/5 FBIS]
IsraelijournalistUri Avnery held talks in Jordan
with Palestinian and Jordanianleaders, despite
Israelilaw prohibitingsuch contacts. [3/5 JP]
Ammanradio said Israeliauthoritieshad closed
the Arab JerusalemElectricity Company.Jerusa-
lem radio said a lien had been placed on the
company's assets. [3/5 FBIS]
March5: The employees of the JerusalemElectric
Companywent on strike to protest the lien. [3/6
FBIS]
The Knesset rejecteda billto annexthe occupied
territoriesafter Peres warnedpassage of the pro-
posal could start a war. [3/6 CSM]
March6: IsraeliArmy radiosaid a "terrorist"had
been killed in a clash with an Israeli Army patrol
near al-Tayyiba, Lebanon, the night before. [3/6
FBIS]
Jordanianauthoritiesexpelled Israelijournalist
Avneryto Egyptfor usinga West Germanpassport
to enter the country.The JerusalemPost reported
that his trip had been approvedby Peres. [3/7 JP]
Avnery deniedhe had been deported.[3/7FBIS]
482
Five more Druze residents of Majdal Shams
were arrested in connection with anti-Israelide-
monstrationsthe week before, bringingthe total
arrestedto 60. [3/8 AN]
March 7: An Americantourist was wounded by
gunfirein East Jerusalem.[3/9 JP]
March8: An Israelisoldierdied in a hand-grenade
attack in southern Lebanon. Two guerrillasalso
reportedlydied. [3/10JP]
March9: PLO leadersissued a statementaffirming
the PLO desire for a "positive course" for its
relationshipwith Jordanbut expressing "deep re-
gret" that Hussein had blamed the PLO for the
breakdownof the peace move, saying the US was
responsible.[3/10 FBIS]
Jerusalemradio reportedthat Israeli authorities
had recentlyreleased50 Arab "administrativede-
tainees" because of prison overcrowding. [3/11
FBIS]
March12: Two days of talks resumedin Herzliyya
on the Taba issue between Egyptian and Israeli
officials.[3/12JP]
Egyptianauthoritiesreleased to Israeli authori-
ties theirreporton the Ras Burqamassacreof Oct.
1985.[3/13JP]
March13:The remainsof an Israelisoldiermissing
for a yearanda halfwere foundnearTulkarmafter
three Fatahactivists confessed to his murder.
Israel'sForeignMinistrysaid it was not satisfied
with the Ras Burqareport, since it consisted only
of trialtranscriptsand not detailedexplanationsof
how the massacrecould have happened.[3/14JP]
March16:The PrimeMinister'sofficecriticizedthe
Foreign Ministry'sreaction to the Ras Burqa re-
port, saying Israel "should not cast aspersionson
Egyptianjudicialandcourtproceedings."[3/16JP]
Canadianpeacekeepingforces replacedthe Aus-
traliancontingentin the multinationalSinaiforces.
[3/22MEED]
March 17: The WashingtonPost reported that a
groupof Palestiniansfrom the occupied territories
had begun to use tactics of nonviolent resistance
against Israeli policies under the direction of
MubarakAwad, of the PalestinianCenter for the
Study of Nonviolence. [3/17WP]
March 19: Jerusalem radio said Israeli security
forces had capturedtwo terroristsresponsiblefor
the murderof two residentsof Khan Yunis in the
Gaza Strip.
Force 17 claimed responsibilityfor a car bomb
that wounded three persons and killed one in
Jerusalem.[3/20FBIS]
Fatah official Salah Khalaf said thousands of
PLO fighters who left Lebanon three-and-a-half
years before had returned.
In Cairo, gunmenopened fire on a car carrying
two Israelidiplomatsandtheirwives, killingone of
the womenand woundingthe other three. A group
called Egypt's Revolution claimed responsibility.
Israelidiplomatssaid they hoped the attack would
not further strain ties. The attack came as the
IsraeliTabadelegationwas in Cairofor talkson the
issue. [3/20 NYT]
March20: Mubarakmet with IsraeliTourismMin-
ister AvrahamSharir,offered sincere condolences
to Israel, and called the attack the work of an
"extremistminority." [3/21 FBIS]
The JerusalemPost reportedthat Mubarakhad
promised Sharir that trade restrictionson Israeli
goods would be eased in the wake of the shooting.
[3/21JP]
After meeting with Mubarakin Cairo, Hussein
said peace efforts had reacheda "dead end."
The movements of 75 Golan Druze who rioted
during Peres' visit were restricted by Israeli au-
thorities.
A Fatah guerrillawho killed an Israeli in the
Gaza market in 1983 was sentenced to life in
prison. [3/21 FBIS]
A bomb in Jerusalem killed one person and
injuredthree others. Two Palestiniangroups, the
"Zafir al-Masri Commandos" and Force 17
claimed responsibility,but Israeli police said the
bombingwas due to an underworldgang rivalry.
[3/21AN]
March 21: Druze villagers in the Golan Heights
staged a general striketo protest Israelirestrictive
measures following demonstrationsagainst Peres
three weeks before. [3/24FBIS]
March 22: The Spanish Foreign Ministry said it
would grant the PLO full diplomaticstatus in an
effort to improve relationswith Arab countriesin
the wake of Spain's resumptionof diplomaticties
with Israel. [3/23 WP]
March 23: Berri said Christian-Israelilinks had
been restored, and that Israeli weapons and mili-
tary personnel were being sent to Christiandis-
tricts in Beirut, after a break of 10 months. [3/24
NYT]
Egypt's press agency reportedthat police had
detained "a large numberof suspects" in connec-
tion with the March 19 attack in Cairo on four
Israelis but AFP said the police had "no firm
leads" in the case. [3/24 FBIS]
March24: The JersualemPost said Israeliauthor-
ities had arrested "scores" of West Bank Arabs
and a Gaza resident on terrorismcharges in con-
nection with a series of bombingsin the Jerusalem
and Ramallahareas since Sept. 1985.[3/24JP]
Lebanese radio said Israeli forces shelled
Nabatiya, killingthree civilians and wounding22,
as well as several other Shi'i villages in the area.
[3/25 NYT]
The JerusalemPost said the SLA had launched
the attack on Nabatiya. [3/25JP]
Jerusalemradio said SLA commanderAntoine
Lahd had not authorizedthe Nabatiyaattack and
had orderedthe imprisonmentof the SLA soldier
responsible. [3/25 FBIS]
March26: Peres respondedpositively to a report
that King Hassan II of Morocco had called for the
election of an Arab leader to meet with Israel.
The Taba talks resumed in Herzliyya, Israel,
amid reports that majordifferencesremainedbe-
tween the delegations.[3/26 FBIS]
March 27: The Israeli Interior Ministry replaced
three of four heads of the Druze local councils in
the Golan Heights in a "routine move aimed at
improving the municipal services." Druze resi-
dents said the move was a further response to
Druze demonstrationsseveral weeks before.
Israeli warplanes attacked "Fatah targets"
southeastof Sidon. Twenty people were reported
killedor injuredin the raid.
Four Israelis were injuredby Katyusharockets
firedat QiryatShimona.[3/27 FBIS]
Fatah claimed responsibility for firing the
Katyushas.
Two GazaArabswere sentencedto life in prison
for murderingtwo Israelis in 1983.
Two students from Al-Najah University were
placed under administrativedetention for being
Fatah "activists."
The IsraeliCentralBureauof Statistics said the
numberof Jewish settlers in the occupied territo-
ries had increasedby 4800 in 1985to 42,000. [3/28
FBIS]
A West Germantourist shot March 14 died in a
hospitalin Beersheba.A Negev Bedouinhad been
detainedin connectionwith the crime. [3/28JP]
March 28: The Jerusalem Post reported that the
Housing Ministryhad granted$40,000 to a Gush
Emunimyeshiva to help it buy out Muslimowners
of houses surroundingthe TempleMount.[3/28JP]
Israeliauthoritiesorderedclosed for threedays a
Druze meeting area on the Syrian border near
MajdalShams to prevent crowds from gathering
there to markLand Day. [3/31FBIS]
March31: Israeli troops killed a Palestinianteen-
ager and wounded three others duringnationalist
demonstrationsin the West BankandGaza Stripin
commemorationof Land Day. [4/1 NYT]
April1: After a roundof talks on the Tabaissue in
Cairo, Israeli delegate David Kimche said there
were "difficulties"in the negotiations. No date
was set for the resumptionof talks. [4/2 JP]
Arafatconfirmedthat the PLO liaison office in
Ammanhad been closed by a "joint agreement"
between Jordanand the PLO. [4/2 FBIS]
Al-Tirahteacher's college was closed by Israeli
authorities following Land Day demonstrations.
[4/3 FBIS]
April2: State Departmentsources said the US and
Israel had begun discussing a multibilliondollar
"MarshallPlan" for the Middle East to help im-
prove the atmospherefor peace. [4/3 NYT]
April 3: Tensions over the Haramal-Sharifflared
againas Israelipolice blocked an attemptby Mus-
lim officials to seal off a passage leading to the
mount. [4/4 JP]
April 7: An Israeli spokesman said that raids on
Fatahand PFLP targetsnear Sidon were in retali-
483
ation for recent attemptsby Palestinianguerrillas
to infiltratenorthernIsraeland for the rocketingof
towns there. [4/8 WP]
Twelve people reportedlydied in the raids. [4/8
FBIS]
April 8: In Bahrain, US Vice President George
Bush said the US was pursuinga new initiativefor
MiddleEast peace, butthathe was "not at liberty"
to give details. [4/9 AN]
In Cairo, Mubarakmet with Knesset Foreign
AffairsCommitteeChairmanAbba Eban and told
him that once the Taba arbitrationagreementwas
signed, a summit meeting with the Israeli prime
ministerwould be held, the Egyptianambassador
would returnto Tel Aviv, and all bilateralagree-
ments would be fulfilled.[4/8 FBIS]
Former PLO chief of intelligenceAtallah Atal-
lah, known as Abu Zaim, was reported to be
leading an anti-Arafatmovementinside Jordanin
response to Hussein's recent call for a change in
Palestinianleadership.
In southernLebanon,a suicide bomberrammed
a car into a SLA checkpointnearHasbayya,killing
himself and an SLA soldier. [4/9 NYT]
A gas bomb thrown into an Egged bus in a
Jerusalemsuburbhurt 10 people. A bombin Afula
wounded an Israeli soldier. The PLO claimed re-
sponsibilityfor the Afula bombing.
Addressingthe Laborparty'sconvention,Peres
said Israel "recognizes" the Palestinians "as a
nation" and that the only path to peace was "dia-
logue." [4/9 JP]
April 9: AlgerianPresidentChadliBenjedidcalled
for a reconciliationcongress of all Palestinianor-
ganizations and said Algeria would act as host.
1-4/10AN]
April 10: Fatah has accepted the Benjedidinvita-
tion, accordingto Fatah CentralCommitteemem-
ber Salah Khalaf. He also condemned Atallah
Atallah's actions in Jordanas a "television coup
intendedto pressurethe PLO." [4/11 FBIS]
April 11: Jerusalemradio said Israel, the US, and
Egypt were workingon an autonomyplan for the
Gaza Strip. [4/Il FBIS]
April 13: Three Israelis were wounded when at-
tackersopened fire on theirbus in the West Bank.
[4/14 CSM]
April 14: US officialsformallyprotested to Israel
the reported torture of Arab-AmericanGhazi
Dabaja in February in southern Lebanon by
SLA soldiers with Israeli complicity. Israeli offi-
cials said the allegationswere "totally baseless."
[4/15 WP]
IsraeliPeace Now activists and West Bank Pal-
estinians held a joint peace rally in Hebron. Mili-
tant Jewish settlers attemptedto preventthe gath-
ering by blockingroads. [4/15 NYT]
484
PetroleumAffairs
(See also, SaudiArabia)
1986
Jan. 23: Worldoil prices fell to below $20 a barrel
after Saudi Oil Minister Shaykh Ahmad Zaki
Yamaniwarnedof an unrestrainedpricewarunless
Britain and other non-OPEC producers curbed
output. [1/24 WP]
Jan. 26: Iranian Prime Minister Mir Husayn
Musavi announcedIran would cut its oil produc-
tion by 50 per cent until furthernotice. [1/27WP]
Feb. 4: UAE's petroleumminister,Mani ibn Said
al-Utayba said the emergency meeting of the
OPEC Higher MonitoringCouncil scheduled for
Feb. 6 in Geneva had been cancelled after Saudi
Arabia refused to change its "confrontation
stance" againstnon-OPECstates. [3/4 FBIS]
Feb. 9: Iranian Prime Minister Musavi accused
Saudi Arabiaand Kuwait of sabotagingefforts by
oil-producingstates to lower their productionlev-
els. [2/10FBIS]
Feb. 19:The priceof US crudeoil fell below $15 to
its lowest price since 1979.West Texas intermedi-
ate, the benchmarkfor US crude, fell to $14.77 a
barrel.[2/20AN]
Feb. 23: Tehranradiosaid Iranwas willingto halt
completelyoil exports in orderto "counteractthe
plot to reduceoil prices." ForeignMinistryofficial
Hussein Shaykh al-Islam began a trip to Saudi
Arabiato representto the Kingdomthe joint Ira-
nian, Libyan, and Algerianstance on reducingoil
production.[2/24 FBIS]
March5: The priceof West Texas Intermediatefell
to $11.63 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange, and Brent oil was selling at $11.86 a
barrelon Mar. 4. [3/6 JP]
March 16: OPEC ministersopened an emergency
meeting in Geneva to try to resolve the dispute
over oil strategyand fallingprices. [3/17 CSM]
March16: Kuwait'sOil Minister,Ali Al KhalifaAl
Sabah,said Kuwaitwas willingto cut its oil output
below its currentOPECquota,despite its previous
opposition.[3/17AN]
Saudi Oil MinisterYamani warned Britainand
other non-OPECoil producersthat the price of oil
could drop to $8 a barrel unless they cooperate
with OPEC. [3/17 WP]
March17: OPECministersdecided to form a new
committeeto examinerecent fluctuationsin world
supplyand demandfor oil. [3/18WP]
March18: KuwaitiOil MinisterAli Al Khalifasaid
an OPEC agreement was "further away than
ever." [3/19 FBIS]
UK Chancellorof the ExchequerNigel Lawson
rejected Saudi Arabia's pleas to cooperate with
OPEC and said Britainwould never cut back oil
productionto secure higherprices. [3/19 WP]
March21: OPEC ministerssaid they and the five
non-OPECnations of Angola, Malaysia, Egypt,
Mexico, and Oman had agreed to take steps to
reestablish an oil price of $28 a barrel but could not
agree on specific measures to do so. [3/24 NYT]
March 22: Iranian Oil Minister Ghulam Riza
Aqazada blamed the US for trying to break the oil
cartel by encouraging some independent oil-pro-
ducing nations to overproduce, and threatened to
flood the market with Iranian oil if a new OPEC
agreement was not reached. [3/23 NYT]
Libyan Oil Minister Fawzi Shakshuki said the
OPEC ministers had agreed on a new production
ceiling of between 14 and 15 million barrels a day
but that discussions on quota redistribution were
continuing. [3/23 AN]
March 24: OPEC ministers ended their conference
without agreement. [3/25 WP]
March 31: In an interview, Yamani ruled out any
OPEC production cutbacks and said discussions of
a 14-million barrel daily ceiling had been "just a
mental exercise." [3/31 MEES]
April 2: Prices of Brent North Sea crude fell below
$10 a barrel following a statement by UAE Oil
Minister Utayba that prices could fall as low as $5
if OPEC failed to agree on production cuts. [4/2
AN]
April 3: Oil prices rallied following news of US
Vice President George Bush's mission to Saudi
Arabia and the Gulf states, reportedly to encourage
measures to stabilize oil prices. [4/3 AN]
RegionalAffairs
General
(See also, Iraq)
1986
Jan. 17: US officials said that Libyan funds for
Libyan students studying in the US would not be
frozen despite a freeze on Libyan assets in the US.
[1/18 NYT]
Jan. 22: In Paris, US Deputy Secretary of State
John Whitehead said most West European nations
had pledged not to undercut US economic sanc-
tions against Libya by taking over jobs or contracts
left by Americans. [1/23 NYT]
Jan. 23: The Reagan administration announced that
US naval planes would be operating off the coast of
Libya for a week as a "reminder" to Libya of the
American naval presence. [1/24 NYT]
Italian prosecutors investigating the Dec. 27 ter-
rorist attack at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport
issued an international arrest warrant charging
radical Palestinian leader Abu Nidal with respon-
sibility. [1/24 CSM]
Jan. 24: In Paris, Arab League Secretary General
Chadli Klibi said if the European Community car-
ried out an economic boycott of Libya the Arab
League would take "retaliatorymeasures." [1/27
FBIS]
An Austrianwomandied of wounds sufferedin
the Dec. 27 attackat the Viennaairport,becoming
the fourthfatality. [1/25NYT]
The Libyan press agency accused the US of
"power mania," and Libyan leader Muammar
Qadhdhafisaid Libya would shoot down any US
aircraftviolatingLibyanairspace.The Soviet press
agency TASS called the US maneuvers an
"unconcealedprovocation."[1/24 FBIS]
Jan. 25: Qadhdhafisailed on an armedpatrolboat
into the Gulf of Sidra to "confront" US forces.
[1/26NYT]
Jan. 28: ItalianPrimeMinisterBettino Craxi said
Qadhdhafihad offered to help halt Arab terrorist
operationsif the US did not attack Libya. [1/29
NYT]
Tripolitelevisiondeniedthe reports.[1/29FBIS]
Jan. 30: The WashingtonPost said that four major
US oil companiesoperatingin Libya had stopped
shippingLibyan crude, but were undercuttingthe
US embargoby "lending"or selling their produc-
tion to oil companiesof other nations. [1/30WP]
Jan. 31: Administrationofficials said they had no
evidence US oil companieshad shifted their Lib-
yan assets or operations,but other officialsources
said the administrationwas negotiatingwith the
companiesto find ways to dispose of their Libyan
holdingsin a way that would spare them "undue
financialloss." [1/31WP]
Feb. 1: The economic sanctionsorderedby Presi-
dent ReaganagainstLibya formallywent into full
effect. [2/2 NYT]
Feb. 8: Tripoli television said Libyanjets would
seek to interceptIsraeliaircraftover the Mediter-
raneandespite an announcementthat US military
maneuvers would resume off the Libyan coast.
[2/10FBIS]
Feb. 9: Gulf CooperationCouncil (GCC) foreign
ministersopened a conference in Manama. [2/10
AN]
Feb. 11: Two US aircraftcarriersbeganfour days
of flight operations near the Libyan coast. [2/11
CSM]
Feb. 21: Davar reportedthat internationalterrorist
Carloshad been executed by "his Libyancollabo-
rators," and buriedin Libya. [2/25 FBIS]
March 1: Reagan administrationofficials said the
US would begin a new policy of the "judicious
employmentof force" to retaliateagainstanddeter
terroristattacksbut would not use "random"acts
of retaliationagainst states harboringterrorists.
[3/2 NYT]
The 18th GCC Ministerial Council session
opened in Riyadh. [3/3 FBIS]
March 2: In a speech to the General People's
Congress(GPC),Qadhdhafisaid Libya would fire
missiles at any US warship entering the Gulf of
Sidra. [3/5 FBIS]
485
March18: The Committeeof Solidaritywith Arab
and Middle Eastern Political Prisoners claimed
responsibilityfor a Frenchtrainbombon March17
that injuredten persons, and called for the release
of Arab and Armenianprisonersin France. [3/19
FBIS]
March20: US officialssaid US forces takingpartin
"routine" military maneuvers in the Mediterra-
nean would cross within two weeks Qadhdhafi's
"line of death" 150 miles from Libya across the
Gulfof Sidrain orderto assertinternational"rights
of navigation,"but that they would only use force
if firedupon. [3/21 WP]
March21: The Committeeof Solidaritywith Arab
and Middle East Political Prisoners claimed re-
sponsibilityfor the bombingof a Parisianshopping
gallery March 20 in which two people died, and
said there would be more bombingsunless three
prisonerswere released. [3/21FBIS]
March22: US administrationofficialssaid William
A. Wilson, Ambassadorto the Vatican, had met
secretly in Libya with Libyan officials in early
Januarybut said the mission had not been autho-
rized and that Shultz had reprimandedWilson.
13/23NYT]
March23: Officialssaid US Navy fighterjets had
crossed the "line of death" in the Gulf of Sidra.
13/24 WP]
March 24: US and Libyan forces clashed in and
around the Gulf of Sidra after Libyan ground
batteries fired six missiles at American planes,
accordingto the Reaganadministration.In retalia-
tion, two Libyan patrolboats were reportedlyhit
by US missiles. US Navy warplanes also hit a
missile site on Libyansoil at Sirteandputit "out of
action," accordingto Secretaryof Defense Caspar
Weinberger.Libyan sources said three American
jets hadbeen shot down, but US officialssaid there
were no US casualtiesor loss of aircraftor ships.
US officialssaid the maneuverswere not intended
to provoke Libya, but that all approachingLibyan
forces would now be considered "to have hostile
intent." At least 27 Libyanswere reportedlykilled
in the clash. [3/25 NYT]
March25: US jets hit Libya's SA-5 missile base at
Sirte and at least four Libyan patrolboats. About
150 crewmen were believed aboard the vessels.
[3/26 WP]
March26: Tripoliradio called for the Arab nation
"to be transformedin its entirety into suicide
squads and humanbombs, missiles and aircraft"
againstthe US. [3/26 FBIS]
Pentagon officials said a total of two Libyan
ships had been destroyed. Maltese Premier
KarmenuMifsud Bonnici met with Qadhdhafiin
Libya in an effort to defuse US-Libyan tensions.
[3/27 NYT]
US warshipspreparedto leave the Gulfof Sidra.
Qadhdhafiannounced he would carry out naval
maneuvers in the Mediterranean.Western diplo-
mats said they expected Qadhdhafito delay a
486
terrorist response to US attacks for weeks or
months. Officialssaid they were "encouraged"by
the relatively subduedArab response to the inci-
dent, notingthe absenceof anti-USdemonstrations
in any Arab countrybut Libya. [3/27 WP]
March27: Libyantelevisionsaid the US Sixth fleet
was "compelled" to withdraw in the face of
Libya's "firmness."[3/28 FBIS]
March28: Qadhdhafitold a rally of supportersin
Tripolithat Libya had scored "a triumph"against
the US. A cow painted with Reagan's name was
slaughteredat the rally.
Shultzsaid the US haddisregardedthe advice of
Italy, Turkey, France, and Greece against using
force againstLibya. [3/29NYT]
March29: An Italiancourt acquittedthree Bulgar-
ians and three Turks of conspiringto assassinate
Pope John PaulII, rulingthat the evidence against
them was ambiguous.[3/30NYT]
March30: Seven people were woundedby a bomb
blast at the offices of a German-Arabfriendship
organizationin West Berlin. [3/31NYT]
An Al-Ahramreport cited by Beirut radio said
Egypt had rejectedthree US invitationsto partici-
pate in a militaryattackagainstLibya. [3/31FBIS]
April2: A bombexplosionin a TWAjet enrouteto
Greece from Rome killed four passengers, includ-
ing an infant,and woundednine others. The plane
madea successfulemergencylandingat Athens. A
groupcalled the ArabRevolutionaryCells claimed
responsibilityand said the bombingwas in retalia-
tion for the US militaryclash with Libya.
Administrationsources said they hoped US ac-
tions against Libya would promptcoup attempts
againstQadhdhafi.[4/3 NYT]
April3: Airlineand securityofficialssaidthey were
lookingfor a Lebanesewoman,May Ilyas Mansur,
who was "known as a terrorist" and who had
boardedthe TWAjet in Cairoand left it in Athens
on the first leg of its roundtrip to Rome. Report-
edly she sat in the seat underwhich the bomb had
been placed.
Peres blamed the Syrian-basedAbu Musa and
Libyan-backedAbu Nidal groupsfor the bombing.
Reagan promised retaliation against terrorists
responsiblefor the TWA bombing.[4/4 WP]
April 4: The WashingtonPost cited reports that
Franceand Italy had made secret deals, which had
since collapsed, with Libya in the 1970s to spare
their citizens from attack in exchange for giving
Libyan-sponsoredterroristsfreedomof travel. [4/4
WP]
May Mansurheld a press conferencein Tripoli,
Lebanon, and denied responsibilityfor the TWA
bomb. [4/6 NYT]
Egypt's Revolutionand the RevolutionaryArab
Brigadesclaimed responsibilityfor the Mexicana
de Aviacion crash in Mexico on March 31 that
killed 166people, butMexicanauthoritiessaidthey
had "completelyruledout" any terroristinvolve-
ment. [4/ FBIS]
April 5: A bomb in a discothequein West Berlin
killed an American soldier and a Turkishwoman
and injured80 others, mostly Americans.
Reportedly, French officials had thwarted a
plannedattackon an Americanconsularbuildingin
Paris, and had expelled four Arabs, includingtwo
Libyans, in connectionwith the plan. [4/5 WP]
Administration officials said that there was
"strong circumstantialevidence" linkingLibya to
the West Berlindisco bombing,andthat Qadhdhafi
had a "master plan" for indiscriminateviolence
againstAmericansin Europe. [4/6 WP]
April 7: The White House rebukedUS Ambassa-
dor to West Germany Richard Burt for saying
publicly that the US had "clear indications" of
Libyan involvement in the disco bombing, but
officials confirmed that Burt's statements were
correct and that the US had "hard evidence" of
Qadhdhafi'slink to the act through the Libyan
Embassy in East Berlin. [4/8 WP]
April 8: Egypt's Al-Shaab said Brig. Gen. Abu
Bakr Younis, head of Libya's armed forces, had
told a visiting Labor party delegation the week
before that 56 people had died in the Gulf of Sidra
clashes. [4/9 NYT]
April 9: Reagansaid the US was analyzingintelli-
gence informationon Libya and was preparedto
retaliate militarilyif evidence pointed to Libyan
backingfor terrorists,callingQadhdhafithe "mad
dog of the Middle East." Qadhdhafisaid Libya
would respond to a US attack by attacking US
targetsworldwide.
West Germanauthoritiesannouncedthey were
expelling two Libyan diplomatsfor "activities in-
compatible with their diplomatic status." [4/10
NYT]
South African officials said they had captured
two Libyan-trainedblack guerrillassent to assas-
sinate black leaders. [4/10WP]
April 10: NATO CommanderBernardRogers said
the US had warningof the disco attack and now
had "indisputableevidence" that Qadhdhafiwas
behindit. [4/11WP]
Sources in West Germany said officials there
disagreedaboutthe implicationsof US information
supposedly linking Libya to the disco bombing,
with some senior governmentofficialslabelingthe
evidence "circumstantial."[4/11 NYT]
Spain recalled its ambassadorfrom Libya to
protest statements by Qadhdhafithat he might
attack Spanishtargets because US militaryforces
are based in Spain. [4/11WP]
A Libyan spokesmanin Spain said Libya would
only attack US bases in Spain and would never
harmthe Spanishpeople. [4/11FBIS]
In Tripoli,Lebanon,Lebaneseofficials,actingat
the requestof Greekauthorities,interrogatedMay
Mansurin connectionwith the April2 TWAbomb-
ing. She reiteratedher innocence. [4/11WP]
April 12: US AmbassadorVernonWaltersbegana
"secret" mission to Europe to try to persuade
Westernleaders that Libya was behind the Berlin
disco bombingand to accept a retaliatorystrike
against Libya if the US administrationdecided to
launchone.
Sources said there was "generalagreement"in
the WhiteHouse to pursuea militarystrikeagainst
Libya but that no final decision had been made.
[4/13WP]
April 14: EuropeanCommunityleaders meetingin
the Hague decided to reduce the size of Libyan
diplomatic missions in Europe and restrict the
movementof Libyandiplomats.[4/15NYT]
April 15: In "self-defense," US warplanescarried
out a massive bombingraid on Libyan airfields,
command posts, and suspected terrorist camps
aroundTripoliand Benghazi,in orderto "preempt
and discourageterrorism,"accordingto the White
House. Reagan said the US had "irrefutable"
evidence that Qadhdhafiwas planningmoreterror-
ist actionsandwas responsiblefor the disco attack.
Europeanofficialswho met in the Hagueto discuss
joint Europeanaction to respondto Libyanterror-
ism said they "knew nothing at all" about the
impendingattack. Reportedly some nations had
had advance knowledge. Britain permitted US
planes based there to take part in the raid. France
reportedlyrefusedto allow US planesto fly over its
territory.Soviet officialsaccused the US of "state
terrorism." Italian officials reportedly warned
against using military force against Libya. [4/15
WP]
The Reagan administrationsaid the raid had
damagedLibya's ability "to direct and controlthe
export of internationalterrorism," and warned
Qadhdhafithe US would take furthermilitaryac-
tion if necessary. At least 15 civilians were re-
porteddeadand 60 woundedin the raids,which hit
at least one residential neighborhoodin Tripoli.
Among the dead was the infant daughter of
Qadhdhafi.US sources suggested the damage to
civilianareasmay have come fromLibyanmissiles
aimed at US planes. One US plane and its two
pilots was reportedmissing with "no evidence of
survivors." Libya launched a retaliatory raid
againstthe islandof Lampedusa,Italy, wherethere
is a US radar station, but the raid reportedly
caused no damage.
Israeliofficialssaid the US raidwas justifiedbut
deniedadvanceknowledge.The Soviet Union can-
celled a scheduledmeetingbetween US Secretary
of StateGeorgeShultzand Soviet ForeignMinister
EdwardShevardnadze.OPECmembersrejecteda
Libyanappealfor an oil embargoagainstthe US,
but stronglycondemnedthe US action. [4/16NYT]
Iran-IraqWar
(See also, Saudi Arabia)
1986
Jan. 19: Iranianmedia said Iranianforces repelled
an Iraqitankattackon Ayn Khush on Jan. 18 and
487
attackedthe DarbandiKhan sector Jan. 19, killing
over 60 Iraqi troops. Iraqi radio said Iraqi jets
attacked Kharg Island Jan. 18 and hit a large
maritimetargetnear the Iraniancoast Jan. 19. The
French press agency reportedthat the Dutch Smit
Maassluis had been hit. One crew member died
and eight were wounded. [1/21FBIS]
Jan. 23: Iraqi radio said Iraqi planes hit a large
maritimetargetin the Gulf, attackedKhargIsland,
and raided oil pipelines near Ganavah. Iranian
reports said the Ganavahraid caused minordam-
age. [1/24 FBIS]
Jan. 27: Iraqi reports said Iraqi planes "went on
the rampage"to avenge an Iranianraidon Diyana
earlier in the day, in which six civilians died,
demolishing "military camps" in four border
towns. [1/28 AN]
Iran's news agency, IRNA, reportedthat Iraqi
air attacks killed 21 civilians. [1/28FBIS]
Jan. 29: The Iraqi news agency (INA), reported
that Iraqi air defenses downed an IranianF-5 jet
attacking targets near Qalaat Duza, inside Iraqi
territory.[1/29 FBIS]
Lloyd's of London said an Iranianvessel, the
Iran Kalam, was hit on Jan. 27 near KhargIsland
by Iraqiplanes. [1/30 FBIS]
Feb. 2: Iraqi planes attacked Kharg Island and a
largemaritimetargetnearthe Iraniancoast, hit the
Ganavahpipeline, and flew 224 combat missions,
accordingto Iraqiradio. The IranianOil Ministry
denied an Iraqi claim that Kharg oil installations
had been destroyed, saying that oil exports had
been cut back in orderto help supportthe price of
oil. [2/3 FBIS]
Feb. 4: Iraqisecuritychief Ali Hasanal-Majidsaid
Iraq had publicly executed 11 Iraqis and four
Iraniansfor planningcar bombattacksin Iraq. [2/5
FBIS]
Feb. 6: An Iranianhelicoptergunshipfireda rocket
at the Avocet, a Cypriotoil tanker,off the coast of
Qatar, killing four crew membersand setting the
ship on fire. It was the 171st ship attacked or
damagedin the PersianGulf war since May 1981.
[2/7 WP]
Feb. 9: IRNA announced that Iran launched a
ground offensive across the Arvand River near
Khurramshahr,"crushing" many Iraqi troops.
[2/10FBIS]
Feb. 10: IRNA said Iranianforces capturedUmm
al-RasasIsland and its oil installationsand threat-
ened Basra. Iraqi radio said Iranianforces had
"gaineda shaky foothold" in some areas but that
most of the attackers had been wiped out. [2/10
FBIS]
Feb. 11: Iranian forces captured al-Faw, taking
controlof the city's oil and industrialinstallations,
accordingto Iranianradio. INA denied that Iran
controlledeither al-Faw or Umm al-Rasas, saying
Iraqi forces had "crushed" the Iranians and
launcheda counteroffensive.[2/11 FBIS]
488
Feb. 12: Iranianreports said Iranian troops had
reached the Kuwaiti border on the Persian Gulf,
cuttingIraqoff fromthe sea. Baghdadradiodenied
the claim as "completelybaseless." [2/13 WP]
IRNA said four Iraqi warplaneshad been shot
down, bringingthe numberreportedlydestroyed
since the beginningof the new Iranianoffensive to
14. [2/12 FBIS]
Feb. 13: Iraqi and Iranian officials accused the
other side of using chemical weapons. Iranian
sources said Iraniantroopswere advancingtoward
Basra. INA said Iraniantroops were surrounded
and cut off from supply lines. In Paris, the leftist
opposition group the People's Mujahidinsaid at
least 7000 people had been killed and 14,000
woundedin the latest fighting.[2/14 NYT]
Feb. 15: The Washington Post reported that
'sources with access to satellitephotographs"had
discounted both Iraqi and Iranianvictory claims
and that "there appearedto be little changeon the
ground."[2/15 WP]
Iranian reports claimed Iranian gunners were
shellingthe mainhighwayfromKuwaitto Iraq,and
Iraqi radio said Iraqi warplanes shot down two
Iranianjets, bombed Iranianground forces, and
sank 29 Iranianships. Sources said Iraq's Seventh
Armyhadfailedto dislodgeIraniantroopsnearthe
western banks of the Shatt al-Arab,despite Iraqi
claims. [2/16WP]
Feb. 17: Tehran radio said Iranian troops had
captured an Iraqi control post north of al-Faw
which had been used to directattackson shipping.
In Vienna, an Austriandoctor said eight Iranian
soldiersflownin for treatmenthad been injuredby
poisonousgas. [2/18CSM]
Feb. 20: IRNA accused Iraqi forces of shooting
down a commercialairlinernear Ahvaz, killingall
46 passengers, includingeight membersof parlia-
ment and Hujat al-Islam Fadlallah Mahallati,
Khomeini'sliaisonwith the RevolutionaryGuards.
An Iraqimilitaryspokesmansaid an IranianC130
transporthadbeen shot down and said Iraqiforces
only hit militarytargets. [2/21 WP]
Feb. 23: INA said Iraqiforces tryingto recapture
the al-Faw peninsula had retaken an important
communicationsjunction. In Tehran,an officialof
the Kurdistan Democratic party said that pro-
IranianKurdshad mountedan offensive in north-
ern Iraq. [2/24NYT]
Feb. 24: Tehran radio announced a new Iranian
offensive in the mountainsof northeast Iraq and
said Iranianforces had captured25 villages in the
Sulaymaniya region, inflicting many casualties.
Iraqi radio said Iraqi forces had "tightened their
seige" of Iraniansin al-Faw, recapturingseveral
more kilometersand wiping out "thousands" of
Iranians.[2/25 FBIS]
Feb. 26: IRNA said Iraniantroops advanced far-
ther into the Iraqi mountains, killing 1500 Iraqi
soldiersandcapturing25 villages.Iraqireportssaid
the fightingwas "mere skirmishing."[2/26 NYT]
 Iraq officials reportedly expanded the "exclusion
zone" around Kharg Island from 80 to 110 kilom-
eters. Any ship crossing into the zone risks Iraqi
attack. [2/27 FBIS]
Feb. 28: IRNA announced that Iranian forces had
smashed a heavy Iraqi counteroffensive in the
al-Faw area, and that two Iraqi jets had been shot
down. Iraqi reports also claimed successes in the
al-Faw area and in the north. [2/28 FBIS]
March 1: Tehran radio said Iranian troops pushed
within 13 miles of Sulaymaniya, and Reuter re-
ported that captured Iraqi trenches were shown on
Iranian television. Iraqi sources said the Iranian
offensive had been repulsed. [3/2 WP]
March 2: Gulf shipping sources said at least four
supertankers had been damaged by Iraqi attacks in
the past week, including the Liberian-registered
Castor, two crewmen of which were killed. [3/3
WP]
March 4: The Washington Post reported that West-
ern military observers believed the Iraqi Army had
suffered nearly 10,000 casualties since the Iranian
offensive against al-Faw began on Feb. 9, and that
the Iraqi government had decided not to attempt to
retake al-Faw as a result. Iraq's crack Republican
Guards also reportedly suffered a severe defeat at
the hands of Iran. [3/4 WP]
Iranian reports said Iraqi bombing raids killed 12
civilians in Shadijan. Iraqi sources denied Iraq
attacked civilian areas. [3/5 WP]
March 5: A Kuwaiti was reportedly killed when
two unidentified aircraft attacked Kuwaiti fishing
boats in the Gulf. [3/6 FBIS]
March 6: An Iranian helicopter attacked the Cyp-
riot Wise in the Gulf, killing a Greek crewman and
wounding three others. [3/7 NYT]
March 8: MEED reported that Iranian aircraft had
attacked three tankers-the Turkish Atlas 1, the
Norwegian Bow Fighter, and the French
Chaumont-off the Qatar coast in the last week of
February. [3/8 MEED]
March 11: About two thousand student protesters
demonstrated in Tehran against the Gulf war poli-
cies of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. [3/12 WP]
March 13: Iranian officials warned Arab Gulf states
to end their support for Iraq or become the target of
a "military option." [3/13 WP]
Iraqi radio said Iraqi forces had broken through
enemy positions in the Shatt al-Arab sector, but
Tehran radio said Iranian troops had repulsed the
Iraqi offensive. [3/13 FBIS]
March 14: UN Secretary General Javier Perez de
Cuellar said Iraq had used chemical weapons
against Iran, citing a report by four experts who
visited Iran between Feb. 26 and March 3 at UN
request. [3/15 WP]
March 16: Iraqi sources said 56 Iraqi planes at-
tacked an Iranian base in the Ahvaz region, wreck-
ing 500 tanks and armored vehicles. Iranian
sources said the raid was on two villages and that
three civilians had died. [3/17 AN]
March 17: IRNA said Iranianground and naval
forces destroyed the Iraqi naval base at Umm
Qasr. [3/18 FBIS]
The CypriotAchievementwas hit by a missile in
the Gulf. Iraqi sources said Iraqijets hit a large
naval target. [3/18AN]
March18:Baghdadradiosaid Iraqiplanesattacked
Iranianrefineriesat Isfahan.
IRNA said Iranianplanes bombedan Iraqimili-
tary and economic center near Qalaat Salih, in-
flicting"irreparable"damage. [3/18 FBIS]
The TurkishDaily News reportedthat the Gulf
CooperationCouncil (GCC) had decided to ask
Turkeyto increase its efforts to mediate between
Iranand Iraq. [3/18TDN]
March20: IraqiradioreportedthatIraqiplaneshad
attacked a large maritimetarget near Iran and a
television relay station and gas station near
Shadijan.INA quoted reports by Lloyd's that a
Cypriot and a Liberian oil tanker were hit by
missiles near Kharg.[3/21 FBIS]
At the Geneva Conferenceon DisarmamentUS
officialscondemnedIraqfor using chemicalweap-
ons againstIranianforces. [3/21 NYT]
March 21: The UN Security Council issued a
strong condemnationof Iraq's use of chemical
weaponsandof "the prolongationof the conflict,"
presumablyby Iran. [3/22NYT]
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry rejected the UN
statementas lacking "the requiredbalance," and
Iran's ForeignMinistrycriticizedthe UN for fail-
ing to condemn Iraq sooner, and for refusing to
"punishthe aggressor."[3/24 FBIS]
The Jerusalem Post reported that the Reagan
administrationwas quietly urging an Israeli-Iraqi
arms deal and that Iraq hoped to obtain Israeli
militaryadvice. [3/21JP]
March22: Iraqiradiosaid Iraqiplanes "completely
destroyed" an Iranianpower station northeastof
Ahvaz. [3/24FBIS]
March 27: Iranianaircraftshot down three Iraqi
MIG-23s when Iraqi aircraft unsuccessfully at-
tacked an Iranian naval convoy, according to
Tehran radio. Iraqi radio said the convoy was
"wiped out." [3/28FBIS]
March29: Iraqiplanes hit the Liberian-registered
Hawaii in the Gulf. [3/30AN]
March 30: An Iranianrocket hit the Norwegian
Berge King off the Qatari coast but it did not
explode. Bomb expertswere called in to boardthe
shipin an attemptto defuse the rocket. [3/31FBIS]
A Panamanian-registered ship was set on fire in
an Iranianair strike, bringingthe total numberof
confirmedhits in 1986to 28. [3/31CSM]
March 31: Iranianaircraft damaged a Qatari oil
tankerin the Gulf. [4/3 FBIS]
April1: Iraqisources said Iraqitroopshad crushed
Iran's latest attack in the north, killing 842 Irani-
ans, had hit another "large maritimetarget," and
had raidedKharg.[4/2 FBIS]
489
 The New York Times reported that Israel had
been involved in a multibillion-dollarproject to
supply missiles to Iran before the fall of Shah
MuhammadRiza Pahlavi. [4/1 NYT]
April 3: IRNA said Iranian troops launched an
attack northeast of Sulaymaniya, killing "hun-
dreds" of Iraqisoldiers. [4/4 FBIS]
April 4: Iraqi radio said Iraqi troops "liberated"
ShamiranMountainand several other peaks in an
offensive in the north, captureda junction in the
Majnunoil fields, hit two large oil tankers, and
raidedan Iranianpumpingstation.
IRNA said a majorpart of Iraq's al-Umayaoil
platformin the Gulf had been destroyed, that an
Iraqifrigatehadbeen sunkin KhawrAbdallah,and
that an Iraqicompanyof soldiershad been "com-
pletely demolished"in northeastIraq. [4/7 FBIS]
April 6: Iranianhelicopters attacked a Saudi oil
tanker, the Petrostar 16 in the Gulf, setting it
ablaze and woundingsix sailors. [4/7 NYT]
April8: IRNA reportedheavy fightingin the north
aroundDarbandiKhan, and Tehranradiosaid two
Iraqijets had been shot down over the southern
battlefront.Iraqisources deniedthe claimand said
Iraq downed two Iranianjets over the southern
battlefront.A Frenchsupertankerwas reportedhit
in the Gulf "recently," according to a Bahrain
newspaper,which said its owners refused to con-
firmthe reports. [4/9 FBIS]
April 10: Iraqi radio said Iraq's Second Army
launchedan offensive in the HarranValley in the
central border area, capturing five "important
heights." [4/11 FBIS]
April 14: IRNA said Iranianplanes bombed Iraqi
oil installationsat Ayn Zalahin northwesternIraq.
[4/15 NYT]
Western Sahara
1986
Jan. 26: The Polisario said it had seized three
Moroccan outposts on the Moroccan defensive
wall the week before, killing70 Moroccansoldiers.
[1/27AN]
March 2: Polisario leader MuhammadAbdulaziz
said a militarysolutionto the Saharaproblemwas
"difficult,if not impossible,"andthathis guerrillas
would keep up military pressure for a political
solution. [3/4 FBIS]
March 4: Algeria's press agency reported that
Polisariotroopshad capturedpartof the Moroccan
defense wall north of Bir Amara. At least ten
Moroccansoldiers reportedlydied. [3/7 FBIS]
March 12: Morocco's press agency reportedthat
ten Polisariofightershad desertedfrom a camp in
Tindouf,Algeria. [3/13 FBIS]
March 25: Algiers radio reported that Polisario
forces had killed eight Moroccan soldiers in two
attacks northof AmgalaMarch20. [3/26FBIS]
490
March30: Algiersradiosaid Polisarioforces killed
or wounded46 Moroccansin an attack on a mili-
tarybase behindone of Morocco'sdefensivewalls.
[3/13 FBIS]
April 9: Moroccan and Polisario representatives
beganindirectUN-sponsoredtalks, accordingto a
UN spokesman.[4/9 WP]
April 10: Guatemalabecame the 64th country to
recognizethe SaharanDemocraticArab Republic.
[4/12AN]
Afghanistan
(See also, Pakistan)
1986
Jan. 20: The WashingtonPost reportedthat recent
reports of a Soviet "timetable" for withdrawal
fromAfghanistanwere not seriousandwere aimed
at underminingthe confidence of Afghan rebels,
accordingto US governmentanalysts. [1/20 WP]
Jan. 27: AFP reportedthattwo Afghangovernment
helicoptersstrafed the town of Parachiva,killing
five and injuring13. [1/28FBIS]
Jan. 28. EightyAfghangovernmentsoldiersdied in
a rebel raid near Istalif, according to Western
diplomaticsources. [2/5 FBIS]
Feb. 4: The Frenchpress agency reportedthat the
US mission in Kabulhad been lightlydamagedby
rocketfire. Heavy fightingwas also reportedin the
Panjsherregion, with heavy losses on both sides.
Guerrillaactivity near Qandaharhad reportedly
declined in recent days after former rebel leader
AsmatullahAshakzai Muslim and his militia de-
cided to back the Kabulgovernment.
Kabul radio reported that six "counterrevolu-
tionary elements" from the Gulbuddinband had
been "crushed"in Herat Province. [2/5 FBIS]
Feb. 5: The Frenchpress agency cited reportsthat
eight AfghanArmy officialshad been executed by
rebels after a trial by an Islamic resistance court.
[2/5 FBIS]
Feb. 10: The Afghan government strongly pro-
tested to Iran over the secret entry of Iranian
theologiansand "counterrevolutionary groups" to
meet with Islamicgroups. [2/11 FBIS]
Feb. 11: Western diplomats said mujahidinshot
down six governmentaircraftin Herat and Ghor
provinces and killed at least 90 troops. Heavy
fightingwas also reportedin the PanjsherValley.
[2/12AN]
Feb. 18: About 200 civilians were killed when
Soviet warplanesbombedHeratProvincethe week
before, accordingto Westerndiplomats.[2/19AN]
Feb. 20: Three "senior Soviet advisers" were
killed in the past two weeks in fightingnear the
Pakistani border, according to the Saudi press
agency. [2/21 FBIS]
 The RevolutionaryCouncilPresidiumappointed
a 74-membercommission to draft a constitution.
[2/24 FBIS]
Feb. 22: Kabul radio said that 42 men in "three
armedgroups," had surrenderedto authoritiesin
Kabul, Takhar,and Faryabprovinces, in orderto
take advantageof the government'samnesty de-
cree. [2/28 FBIS]
Feb. 25: Jiddaradio reportedthat rebels disguised
as policemenhad captured30 Soviet paratroopers
who landed east of Kabul the week before. [2/28
FBIS]
Feb. 26: UN UndersecretaryDiego Cordovezsaid
he would travelto Afghanistan,Pakistan,and Iran
the followingweek to try to breakthe deadlockin
talks on Afghanistan.[2/27NYT]
Feb. 28: Rebels said they had attacked a Soviet
militarycamp in eastern Afghanistanon Feb. 24,
killing 14 Soviet soldiers. [3/1 NYT]
March1: In Moscow to attendthe 27thCommunist
PartyCongress,PresidentBabrakKarmalsaid US
pressure on Pakistannot to talk directly with his
governmentwas blockinga settlementof the war.
[3/2 WP]
March 4: Western diplomats said two senior Af-
ghan Army officers had defected to Pakistan.[3/5
NYT]
The Saudi press agency said Afghanrebels had
shot down three Soviet helicoptersnear Kabul in
the previous week, killingfour "Soviet experts."
[3/5 FBIS]
March 10: Karachiradio reportedthat rebels de-
stroyeda governmentbase in Heraton March6, as
well as three securityposts. Eleven soldiersreport-
edly died and 70 defectedto the rebels. [3/11FBIS]
March 11: Western diplomats in Pakistan said
Afghan and Soviet troops ambusheda rebel pack
train north of Kabul on March2, killingand cap-
turingmost of the guerrillas.[3/12WP]
March 12: Mujahidinleader Abdul Haq met with
PrimeMinisterMargaretThatcherand other Brit-
ish officials in London, where he was promised
humanitarianaid. [3/13AN]
A bomb on a bus near Herat killed eight and
injured nine others, according to Kabul radio,
which blamed the explosion on "counterrevolu-
tionarycriminals."[3/17 FBIS]
March 15: Near the Afghanborderof Pakistan,a
land mine destroyed two trucksfilled with Afghan
refugees on their way to a wedding, killing 18
women and a man. [3/17 NYT]
March 17: The Foreign Ministry rejected a UN
reporton humanrightsviolationsin Afghanistanas
"a collection of groundless slanders and accusa-
tions." [3/17 FBIS]
March 18: AFP reportedthat four Afghan planes
bombed the Karshia border post in the Kurram
area of Pakistan, killing five paramilitarytroops
and wounding14 others. [3/19 FBIS]
Western diplomats said that up to 900 Afghan
troopshaddefectedto guerrillasin Paktiaprovince
the week before. [3/19CSM]
March20: Pakistanlodgeda "strongprotest" over
Afghanattackson a borderpost and refugeecamp
in KhurramAgency which killed six people on
March 16 and 18. [3/21 FBIS]
March 23: Five persons reportedly died in an
Afghanairraidon a refugeecampin Pakistan.[3/24
AN]
March30: Karmalleft for a "shortunofficialvisit"
to the Soviet Union. [3/31 FBIS]
April 1: "The heaviest fightingof the year" was
reportedly raging between Soviet-Afghan forces
and rebels in Paktia and Nangarharprovinces in
the easternpart of the country. [4/2 AN]
April2: The US reportedlyagreed to supply hun-
dreds of Stinger missiles to Afghan mujahidin.
Pakistanisources expressed worry that the move
could increase Soviet-Afghanattacks on Pakistan.
[4/3 AN]
April 6: Kabul radio said rebels detonated a car
bombin Kabulthat wounded22 people. [4/7 NYT]
April 8: The InternationalRed Cross said it had
opened negotiationswith Afghanofficialsin Kabul
on resuminghumanitarianvisits to prisonersand
woundedwar victims. Such visits ended in 1982.
[4/9 NYT]
Western diplomats said Kabul hospitals were
treating many cases of phosphorousburns, sug-
gesting Soviet and Afghanforces may be using the
chemicalas a weapon. [4/9 CSM]
April 9: The Saudi press agency said rebels had
recently shot down eight Soviet jets and captured
350 Afghantroops in PaktiaProvince. [4/10 FBIS]
April15: Westerndiplomatssaid securityin Kabul
was tight after a wave of bombingsand after 20
bombs were found in a Soviet housing complex.
[4/16NYT]
Algeria
(See also, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Regional
Affairs,Tunisia)
1986
Jan. 16: Algeriansvoted to accept revisions in the
NationalCharterthatopenthe doorto greaterprivate
in the nationaleconomyand increased
participation
state supportto the privatesector. [1/18AN]
Jan. 28: Libyan leader Muammaral-Qadhdhafi
arrivedin Algeriafor an officialvisit. [1/28 FBIS]
Feb. 9: President Chadli Benjedid approved the
appointmentof new ministers:
RashidBen Yelles: Transportation
BusalamBessaiyeh: Cultureand Tourism
MustafaBenzaza:Posts and Telecommunications
BoubkrBelcaid:Labor
AbdelmalikNourani:UrbanPlanning
[2/10 FBIS]
49'
Feb. 12: Benjedid made the following Cabinet
appointments:
Abdelaziz Khallaf:Finance
MustafaBenamar:Trade
MuhammadDjeghaba:Veterans
MuhammadNabi: Social Protection
[2/13 FBIS]
Feb. 18: Benjedid made the following Cabinet
appointments:
BoualamBaki:Religious Affairs
MohamedCherifKharroubi:Justice
Zhor Ounissi:National Education
Faysal Boudraa:Heavy Industries
[2/19AN]
March23: AlgerianPrime MinisterAbd al-Hamid
Brahimisaid Algeria had agreed to supply Libya
with naturalgas. [3/24FBIS]
March 28: Benjedid concluded an official visit to
the Soviet Union. [3/29AN]
Bahrain
(See, Arab-IsraeliConflict,RegionalAffairs)
Cyprus
(See also, RegionalAffairs)
1986
Jan. 20: According to the TurkishDaily News,
Turkish officials informed the self-proclaimed
TurkishRepublicof NorthernCyprusthat Turkey
would stop subsidizingthe TurkishCypriotbudget
by 1990. [1/21TDN]
Jan. 30: Parliamentvoted to increase a special
defense tax fromone to two per cent of wages and
salaries. [3/1 AN]
March 19: Trade unions called a one-day general
striketo protestemployers'demandsfor an end to
inflation-linkedpay raises. [3/15 MEED]
March29: UN SecretaryGeneralJavier Perez de
Cuellarpresenteda draftagreementfor solvingthe
Cyprus problem to Greek Cypriot and Turkish
Cypriot representatives. The draft proposes the
establishmentof a united governmentcontaining
two autonomousstates. [3/30 NYT]
April 2: President Spyros Kyprianouarrived in
Athens for talks on the UN draft. [4/3 AN]
April 3: Turkish Cypriot leaders were reported
pleased and Greek Cypriot leaders disappointed
over the new de Cudllardraft. [4/3 TDN]
April 7: In London, Kyprianou held talks with
British Prime Minister MargaretThatcheron the
UN draft. [4/7 AN]
492
Egypt
(See also, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Petroleum
Affairs,RegionalAffairs, Kuwait)
1986
Jan. 21: Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported that Jad al-
Haqq, the Shaykh of Al-Azar, had called for a
clampdownon the Bahai sect. [1/24 FBIS]
Jan. 23: A Cairo court overturned on appeal a
judgementthat banned a 1985 unexpurgatedver-
sion of A Thousand and One Nights as immoral.
[1/25LM]
Jan. 29: President Husni Mubarakmet French
PresidentFrangoisMitterandin Paris. [1/30AN]
Jan. 30: Mubarakarrivedin Bonn for a two-day
officialvisit. [1/31AN]
Feb. 3: Al-Sharqal-Awsatreportedthat the Egyp-
tian governmenthad decided to cancel its annual
"Bright Star" military maneuvers with the US,
followingthe Achille Lauro affair.[2/4 FBIS]
Feb. 10: InteriorMinisterAhmadRushdi said 111
workers in a textile factory at Mehalla had been
arrestedafter two days of disturbances.[4/11AN]
Feb. 13: Egypt's press agency (MENA) reported
that 22 senior officialsat the Ministryof Industry
hadbeen arrestedon chargesof briberyandmisuse
of publicfunds. [2/14 FBIS]
Feb. 21: US officials said they were holding up
delivery of $150 million in aid allocated to Egypt
pendingeconomic reformsin Cairo. [2/23 AN]
Feb. 24: Greek Prime Minister Andreas
Papandreaoubegan an official three-day visit to
Cairo. [2/25FBIS]
Feb. 25: In Cairo, Army conscripts stationednear
the Great Pyramidsrioted following reports their
term of service would be extended. Othersjoined
in, burningcars, smashingbillboardsand hotels,
and fighting pitched battles with police. Rioters
stormed the Tura prison south of Cairo, freeing
many prisoners. Disturbanceswere also reported
in Asyut, Ismailiya, and Sohag. Mubarakblamed
the events on "saboteurs." [2/26WP]
Feb. 26: A curfewwas imposedon Cairofollowing
two days of violence in which at least 15 persons
died, two luxury hotels were destroyed, and doz-
ens of conscriptswere injured.[2/26 FBIS]
Feb. 27: Disturbancescontinued in Cairo despite
the curfew. Accordingto governmentstatements,
more than 2000 mutinoussecurity police and sev-
eral hundred civilian rioters had been detained.
Mubarakmet with key Cabinet membersand op-
position party leaders to present a united front
againstthe violence. [2/28WP]
Feb. 28: Continuinggunfire from a garrison of
mutineers prevented Mubarakfrom visiting the
scene of riotingin Cairo until police stormed the
garrison. An ammunitiondump at the Hukstep
barracksnear the airport was also reportedlyin
control of mutineers.MuslimBrotherMuhammad
Abd al-Qaddusdeniedthat Islamicfundamentalists
had played a role in the violence. [3/1 WP]
Mubarakaccepted the resignation of Interior
MinisterAhmad Rushdi, replacinghim with Maj.
Gen. Zaki Badr. The finalcasualty toll in the riots
was reportedto be as follows: 32 conscriptskilled,
273 wounded; 2 soldiers killed, 12 wounded; 2
civilians killed, 26 wounded; 4 tourists injured.
[2/26 FBIS]
March 1: Mubarakappointed new deputies for
InteriorMinisterBadr, who announceda reshuffle
among top officialsin his ministryresponsiblefor
CentralSecurityForces and state intelligence.[3/3
FBIS]
March 2: In Cairo, InformationMinister Safwat
al-Sharifsaid "the situationis completely normal
and calm." [3/3 NYT]
Egyptianofficialsadmittedthatthey hadplanned
to increasethe termof police conscriptsfromthree
to four years. [3/3 JP]
March3: A body believed to be that of a missing
Danishtouristwas foundin the rubbleof one of the
Giza hotels attacked by rioting police conscripts
the week before. [3/4 NYT]
March4: Badr announcedthat the camps housing
police conscriptswould be relocatedoutside Cairo
and away fromother towns, that money was being
allocated to improve their living conditions, and
that they would be dischargedthreemonthsbefore
their term of service expired.
The HigherState SecurityCourtsentencedfour
Libyans to life in prison for trying to assassinate
Libyanexile Abd al-Hamidal-Bakkush.[3/4FBIS]
March 6: An Egyptiancourt confirmedthe death
sentence on an Egyptian-bornIsraeli drug smug-
gler. [3/7 AN]
March 8: Mubaraklifted the curfew imposed on
Cairo 11 days before. [3/9 WP]
March 11: In Cairo, US Assistant Secretary of
State RichardMurphysaid the US would unfreeze
$150millionof its $1.3 billionaid packageto Egypt
in the wake of the destructive riots two weeks
before. [3/12 WP]
March14: ChinesePresidentLi Xiannianbeganan
officialvisit to Egypt. [3/17 FBIS]
March20: Jordan'sKing Hussein arrivedin Cairo
for a brief visit and met with Mubarak.[3/20FBIS]
March31: A student was shot by police in Asyut
while hanging posters for a fundamentalistrally.
Mubarakordered that the student be taken by a
special plane to the military hospital in Cairo,
accordingto MENA. [4/1 FBIS]
April3: PublicProsecutorMuhammadAbd al-Aziz
Gindi said more than 1200persons would be tried
for involvementin the police riots. [4/4 WP]
Iran
(See also, Petroleum Affairs, Regional
Affairs,Afghanistan,Lebanon)
1986
Jan. 19: President Ali Khamanei arrived in
Luanda, Angola, at the beginningof an African
tour, his first overseas trip since taking office in
1981.[1/20AN]
Jan. 21: An Energy Ministry statement said the
nationalelectricity network had suffereda 40 per
cent drop in power since Jan. 12 as a result of gas
shortages.[1/22FBIS]
Feb. 16: A Tehrancourt closed Iran's daily eco-
nomic newspaper, Bourse, in its 25th year of
publication,because owner-editorYusuf Rahmati
was "not politicallyqualified."[2/17AN]
Feb. 17: A bomb exploded at a bus terminalin
southernTehran,killingone person and wounding
six others. [2/18FBIS]
Feb. 24: Five French citizens, includingan Em-
bassy official, were arrested in Tehran, a week
afterFranceexpelledfourIraniansanda numberof
othernationalsin connectionwith a wave of bomb-
ings in Paris. [2/25WP]
Feb. 26: AFP reported that two more French
nationalshadbeen arrestedin Tabrizand wouldbe
expelled. [2/26FBIS]
Feb. 27: The InteriorMinistryannouncedthe ex-
pulsionof four Frenchnationalson the groundsof
espionage, including the French press agency's
Tehrancorrespondent.[2/28 FBIS]
March1: A dentalparamedicand his brotherwere
murdered by leftist guerrillas in Tehran. [3/15
MEED]
March 2: In a speech marking Women's Day,
Khomeini officially cleared the way for greater
participationof Iranianwomen in public life, in-
cludingmilitaryservice. [3/8 MEED]
March15: MEED said four guerrillasof the Paris-
based leftist Mujahidin-iKhalqhad been executed
in late Februaryand early March. [3/15MEED]
March22: MEED reportedthat unemploymentin
Iranhad reached 15 per cent. [3/22MEED]
April 3: AyatallahMuhammadKazim Shariatma-
dari died of cancer in Tehranat the age of 87. He
hadbeen underhouse arrestfor the past five years,
according to relatives, after he was accused of
plottingagainstKhomeini.[4/4 FBIS]
April 9: A bomb in downtown Tehrankilled one
and injured five. IRNA blamed the bomb on
"counter-revolutionary groups backed by imperi-
alist governments."[4/9 FBIS]
Two senior French diplomatsarrivedin Tehran
to reopen contacts in the wake of the change of
governmentin Paris. [4/10AN]
493

Iraq
(See also, Regional Affairs, Pakistan, Syria,
Turkey)
1986
Feb. 28: AmnestyInternationalsaid it had received
unconfirmedreportsthat one of two Iraqistudents
deported by France to Iraq on Feb. 19 had been
executed. The governmentdenied the report. [3/8
MEED]
March5: KingHusseinmet with PresidentSaddam
Hussein in Baghdadand reaffirmedJordan'ssup-
port for Iraq. [3/6 FBIS]
March 12: Iraqiauthoritiespardonedthe two pro-
Iranian Iraqi students expelled from France and
said they would be allowed to leave the country.
[3/13 NYT]
Reportedly, Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
grantedthe pardonat the requestof FrenchPresi-
dent FrancoisMitterandas partof the negotiations
over the French hostages in Beirut. [3/13FBIS]
Israel
(See also, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Petroleum
Affairs, Regional Affairs, Egypt, Lebanon,
Sudan)
1986
Jan. 15: The CenterLiberalpartywas established.
Jewish Agency Director Arye Dulzin was named
partyleader. [1/21 FBIS]
Jan. 16: The chief of the JerusalemPolice Traffic
Bureau, Henri Almashi, committed suicide after
being implicatedin a briberyscandal. [1/17JP]
Jan. 17: Spain and Israel established diplomatic
relations. [1/17 FBIS]
Jan. 19: Prime Minister Shimon Peres began an
officialvisit to the Hague, where he was scheduled
to meet with Spanish Prime Minister Felipe
Gonzalez and US Assistant Secretary of State
RichardMurphy.[1/19JP]
Jan. 22: The WashingtonPost reportedthat Israeli
officialshad agreed in principleto return$51 mil-
lion of $1.2 billionin US economicaid for FY 1986
to help meet US budgetcuts. [1/22WP]
Time magazine formally apologized to former
defense minister Ariel Sharon and agreed to pay
some of his courtcosts, endingthe long libel action
by Sharon. [1/23 CSM]
Peres met with BritishPrimeMinisterMargaret
Thatcherin London. [1/23 FBIS]
Jan. 26: Peres began a four-day visit to West
Germany.[1/27AN]
Feb. 11: Soviet dissidentAnatoly Scharanskywas
freedafternine yearsin captivityas partof an East-
West prisonerexchangein Berlin.Scharanskyflew
494
to Israelto join his wife, and was met with a huge
celebration.[2/12WP]
AttorneyGeneralYitzhakZamirannouncedhis
resignation.[2/12JP]
Feb. 12: Israeland the Ivory Coast resumeddiplo-
matic relations,severed in 1973. [2/13JP]
Feb. 28: Accused Nazi deathcamp executioner
John Demjanjukarrivedin Israel from the US to
stand trialfor war crimes. [3/1 WP]
March 8: A close aide to Peres said Israel was
"eager and willing" to take part in the US "Star
Wars" space weapons program.[3/9 NYT]
March 12: Ariel Sharon defeated Binyamin-Zeev
Begin, son of the formerprimeminister,to become
the Herut party's MandatesCommitteechairman.
[3/12FBIS]
The Herut partyconvention closed abruptly,in
"completedisarray"afterviolent clashes between
supportersof David Levi and Ariel Sharonagainst
supporters of Yitzhak Shamir, with the Levi-
Sharon camp gaining control of the convention
presidium.[3/13FBIS]
March23: In a speech to the Laborparty'sCentral
Committee, Peres rejected pressure to break his
agreementwith the Likud to rotate offices with
Shamir.[3/24NYT]
The Cabinet cancelled regulations prohibiting
women from working at night in all but "tradi-
tional" women'sjobs. [3/24JP]
April1: Peresbegana 24-hourvisit to Washington.
[4/2 AN]
April 4: UN officials said they would release to
Israela secret file on formersecretarygeneralKurt
Waldheim,whom some believe was a Nazi intelli-
gence officerduringWorldWar II. [4/5 NYT]
April 6: Peres said Finance Minister Yitzhak
Modai, who had publicly lashed out at Peres and
governmenteconomic policy, should resign. [4/7
JP]
Many Israelis observed a daylight saving time
schedule after Interior Minister Yitzhak Peretz
refused, on religious grounds, to proclaimit offi-
cially. [4/7 NYT]
April8: The WashingtonPost reportedthata group
of black South Africanswas receiving trainingin
Israel in "social organizingand economic leader-
ship skills" sponsoredby the Histadrutlaborunion
federation.[4/8 WP]
At a press conference, some of the South Afri-
cans accused Israel of supplyingwhite South Af-
rica with arms used to shoot blacks. [4/8 JP]
The Labor party's national conference opened
amid reports that Peres was preparing to fire
Modai. [4/8 JP]
April 9: Likud ministers said they would resign
from the Cabinetif Peres forced Modai to resign,
despite an offer by Modai himself to step down.
[4/10JP]
Israel's UN AmbassadorBenjaminNetanyahu
said after looking at the UN documents on
Waldheim, he believed further investigationwas
necessary. [4/10JP] Lebanon
April 11: Shamirand Peres met in an attempt to (See also, Arab-Israeli Conflict, Regional Affairs,
agree on a compromisethat would end the crisis Kuwait)
over Finance MinisterModai. [4/11JP]
April13:The coalitioncrisis ended whenPeres and
LikudministersagreedthatJusticeMinisterMoshe 1986
Nissim and Modai would trade jobs, and that Jan. 16: Elie Hubayqa resigned as chairman of the
Modai would remain Justice Ministerthroughout Lebanese Forces Executive Committee and flew
the term of the coalitiongovernment.[4/14WP] into exile, following the defeat of his forces by
militias loyal to President Amin Gemayel and Leb-
anese Forces Chief of Staff Samir Jaja. [1/16 FBIS]
Jan. 17: Pro-Gemayel troops fought off attacking
pro-Syrian and leftist militias in a tank battle near
Jordan Bikfayya. At least 31 died and 76 were wounded.
(See also, Arab-IsraeliConflict,Egypt, Iraq,Saudi [1/18 NYT]
Arabia,Syria) In Damascus, Syrian Vice President Abd al-
Halim Khaddam continued crisis talks with Muslim
militia leaders. Lebanese Forces officials said they
1986 hoped to remain on good terms with Syria, despite
Jan. 31: In the face of strong congressionaloppo- their rejection of the tripartite accord. [1/18 WP]
sition, the Reaganadministrationpostponedindef- Three employees of the Spanish Embassy were
initely a plannedsale of a $1.9 billion air-defense kidnapped in Beirut
by relatives of two Lebanese
packageto Jordan.[2/1 NYT] prisoners in Spain.
JordanianofficialsinformedWashingtonof their
French Nazi-hunter Beate Klarsfeld arrived in
"great disappointmentand indignation,"and said
Beirut and offered to serve as a hostage in place of
Jordanwould try to obtainthe weaponsfromother five Jewish
Lebanese held by kidnappers. [1/18
sources. [2/3 FBIS] WP]
March17: BritishGeneralSir JohnGlubb,who led
18: Amal militia leader Nabih Berri and Druze
the Arab Legion in Jordanfor 17 years, died in Jan.
chief Walid Jumblatt joined officials of the leftist
Englandat the age of 88. [3/18AN] National Union Front in calling for the ouster of
March27: The House of Representativesapproved
the draft electoral law for 1986, increasing the Gemayel. [1/19 NYT]
Jan. 20: Returning from talks in Damascus, Prime
numberof representativesto 142from60. Seventy-
one seats are designatedfor the East Bank and 71 Minister Rashid al-Karami and Education Minister
Salim al-Huss said they no longer had confidence in
for the West Bank, including60 for the occupied
West Bank and 11 for refugee camps in Jordan. Gemayel. [1/21 WP]
A car bomb in East Beirut, apparently aimed at a
[3/28 FBIS]
March28: KingHusseinbegana visit to Bruneiand Phalanges party office, killed 27 and injured more
than 100 persons. [1/22 WP]
Indonesia. [3/31 FBIS]
Jan. 22: Radio Free Lebanon reported fierce fight-
April 5: Al-Quds reported that Jordan had ap-
between "leftist parties" and Lebanese Army
provedthe appointmentof an ambassadorto Syria. ing
troops in Al-Ayrun, Al-Duwwar, Bikfayya, and
[4/8 FBIS]
Suq al-Gharb. [1/23 FIBS]
Ousted Christian militia leader Hubayqa re-
turned from exile and flew to Damascus for talks
with Syrian Vice President Khaddam. [1/24 WP]
Kuwait Jan. 23: The Lebanese pound fell to 23.25 to the
dollar. [1/25 LM]
(See also, PetroleumAffairs,RegionalAffairs) At least five people died in Lebanon's central
mountains in battles between forces loyal to
1986 Gemayel and Syrian-backed militias. [1/24 NYT]
Feb. 19: Kuwait'snews agencyannouncedthat527 Jan. 24: Hubayqa met with former President Sulay-
prisonerswould be released and 695 others would man Franjiya at Zgharta. [1/24 FBIS]
have their sentences reduced, to mark National Jaja was officially elected as Hubayqa's succes-
Day on Feb. 24. [2/20AN] sor. Artillery, tank, and rocket duels continued in
March16: Four Lebanesewere sentenced,threein the eastern and central mountains. [1/25 NYT]
absentia, to 15-year prison terms for sabotage. Jan. 25: A UNIFIL soldier from Nepal died in
[3/17 AN] shelling by the Israeli-backed Southern Lebanon
The trial began of two Egyptians, a Lebanese, Army (SLA) in the village of Kafra. One other
and a Kuwaiti charged with public incitementto person died, and seven others were wounded. [1/26
topple the existing regimeby force. [3/17 FBIS] JP]

495
 Thirty-twoChristianleaders met at Bkirki and
called for Parliamentto debate and vote on the
Syrian-backed accord, saying they opposed a
showdownwith Syrian-backedforces. [1/26AN]
Jan. 26: French Foreign MinisterRoland Dumas
said France had begun new efforts to free French-
men held by the Islamic Jihad organization.[1/28
AN]
Jan. 27: Muslim ministers boycotted a Cabinet
meeting called by Gemayel to consider referring
the Syrian-sponsoredplan to Parliamentfor de-
bate. [1/28 NYT]
Jan. 28: Clashes eruptedbetween Shi'i and Pales-
tinian fighters in the Sabra and Shatila refugee
camps. [1/29 FBIS]
Jan. 30: Shells fell on Gemayel'spalaceat Baabda
duringfightingbetween his supportersand oppo-
nents. [1/31NYT]
Jan. 31: SouthKoreandiplomatChaeSungDo was
kidnappedin Beirut. [2/1 AN]
The Green Brigades and the FightingRevolu-
tionaryCells claimedresponsibility.[2/3 FBIS]
Voice of Lebanon reported that Hubayqa had
been ambushednear Akkarand that severalof his
companionswere injuredin the attack. [2/3 FBIS]
Feb. 1: Eleven Maronite MP's, members of the
Rally of IndependentMaroniteDeputies, began a
visit to Damascus in an effort to revive the peace
process. [2/1 AN]
Former president Camille Chamoun criticized
the deputies' trip as fruitless and ruled out any
contact with the group. [2/3 FBIS]
Feb. 2: Berri, Jumblatt, and Hubayqa met with
SyrianVice PresidentKhaddamin Damascus.
Amal and Palestine National Salvation Front
(PNSF) officialsagreedon a plan to restore peace
to Shatila camp, where 12 died and 40 were
woundedin recent clashes. [2/3 FBIS]
Two explosions in Beirutnear Phalangesoffices
woundedat least three people. [2/4 FBIS]
Three died in fightingin Beirut between rival
Armenianfactions, the Armenian Revolutionary
Union and the Tashnagparty. [2/4 FBIS]
Feb. 3: Four SLA members were killed in an
ambushby the Ali SaqrgroupnearAyta al-Shaab.
[2/4 FBIS]
A bomb in a briefcase near a Phalangesparty
office killed nine people and wounded "scores"
more, accordingto Voice of Leabanon.[2/4 FBIS]
Feb. 4: ParliamentSpeaker Hussein al-Husseini
rejected Gemayel's proposal that he refer the
Syrian-backedaccord to Parliamentfor debate.
[2/6 AN]
Feb. 5: Gemayel said he intended to stay on as
presidentdespite calls for his resignation.[2/7WP]
Feb. 10: Nazi-hunter Klarsfeld left Beirut after
failing to gain the release of kidnappedLebanese
Jews. [2/11 FBIS]
Jerusalemradioreportedthaton Feb. 9 the Amal
movementarrested100Communistpartymembers
suspected of involvementin attackson Israeliand
496
SLA soldiers in the south. Voice of Lebanon
reported Amal-Communist clashes in Beirut fol-
lowing the arrests. [2/10 FBIS]
Feb. 11: Representatives of the Lebanese Army,
"internal security sources," Syria, Amal, and the
Progressive Socialist party (PSP) met to discuss the
security crisis in West Beirut. [2/11 FBIS]
Voice of Lebanon reported that 64 supporters of
Hubayqa had been arrested and charged with ter-
rorism and said that they had been organized by
former Lebanese Forces security chief Asad
Shaftari. [2/12 FBIS]
Feb. 12: An explosion in a movie theater in East
Beirut killed two people and wounded at least five.
Radio Free Lebanon blamed supporters of
Hubayqa. [2/12 FBIS]
Hubayqa denied his supporters had formed ter-
rorist cells and accused Gemayel and Jaja of "the
crudest methods of arrest and repression." [2/13
FBIS]
Communist party sources accused Amal of tor-
turing the Communists detained the week before.
Berri met with Communist party Secretary George
Hawi. [2/13 FBIS]
Feb. 13: Beirut radio reported that the SLA had
resumed heavy shelling of Popular Liberation
Army positions east of Sidon and that two Libera-
tion Army fighters had been killed. [2/14 FBIS]
Feb. 14: Five Liberation Army fighters died and 20
others were wounded in clashes with the SLA near
Sidon. [2/14 FBIS]
Gemayel began an unexpected visit to France.
[2/16 NYT]
Radio Free Lebanon reported clashes in Beirut
between gunmen from the Amal movement and the
Lebanese Army's Sixth Brigade on one hand, and
Hizballah militiamen on the other, after "dozens"
of Sixth Brigade soldiers were reportedly kid-
napped by Hizballah. [2/18 FBIS]
Feb. 17: Eight people were wounded in sniper fire
in West Beirut. [2/18 FBIS]
Feb. 19: Gemayel met with Pope John Paul II at the
Vatican. [2/20 AN]
Three kidnapped Spanish Embassy employees
were freed. [2/23 AN]
Feb. 20: Khalil Naaous, the Communist party chief
in West Beirut, was shot and killed by gunmen.
[2/25 NYT]
Feb. 21: Gemayel met with the Syrian ambassador
to Morocco during a private visit to that country.
[2/25 FBIS]
Feb. 23: Christian villages in the eastern and north-
ern mountains were hit by artillery and rocket fire,
wounding a number of people. National Liberal
party leader Dany Chamoun charged that Syrian
forces had joined in the bombardment. Syrian
officials denied the charge. [2/24 NYT]
Feb. 24: A car bomb exploded near a supermarket
in East Beirut, killing at least five and injuring 12.
Gunmen assassinated Isam al-Arab, head of the
Nasserite Forces militia. [2/25 CSM]
 Voice of Lebanon reported that al-Arab had
been killed by a Syrian who once worked as his
chauffeur.[2/25FBIS]
The bullet-riddenbody of SuhaylTawila,a mem-
ber of the Central committee of the Communist
party and editor of Al-Tariq,was found in Beirut.
[2/25 NYT]
Hizballahsources saidTawilahadbeen executed
in retaliationfor the murderof one of their mem-
bers. [2/25 FBIS]
Feb. 25: Three UN Relief and Works Agency
(UNRWA) workerswere kidnappedenroutefrom
Tripolito Beirut. [2/25 WP]
Iraniandiplomatsin Beirutmet with PSP, Amal,
Communistparty, and Hizballah members in an
effort to mediate recent conflicts. Reportedly"all
detainees" were released following the meeting.
[2/25 FBIS]
Feb. 26: Radio Free Lebanonreportedthat many
people had been wounded when a car bomb ex-
plodedat the Ayn al-Hilwarefugeecampat Sidon.
[2/26 FBIS]
Feb. 27: One of the kidnappedUNRWA workers
was released. The two others, both Palestinians,
were still held. [2/28 WP]
Feb. 28: Phalangesmilitiamenreleased the other
two UNRWA employees.
A new 500-member"strike force" made up of
Muslim and leftist militiamen began patrolling
West Beirut,as at least one persondied in sporadic
fighting between Christians and Muslims. [3/1
NYT']
March3: A policemanwas killed and 11 civilians
were woundedin artilleryduels on bothsides of the
Green Line. Spokesmen for Hizballah said 11
Lebanese had been "executed" for bomb attacks
in Muslimareas in February.[3/4 NYT]
Voice of Lebanon reportedthat Zaven Garabet
Tashidjian,head of the ArmenianTashnagparty,
had been assassinated. [3/3 FBIS]
March4: Berriand Jumblattmet with SyrianVice
President Khaddamin Damascus to discuss the
formationof a "nationalcommand"for securityin
West Beirut. [3/5 FBIS]
March 5: A car bomb in Sidon killed three and
wounded several other people. [3/5 FBIS]
The explosion touched off battles between rival
Muslimmilitias. [3/6 AN]
IslamicJihadsaid it had killed one of its French
hostages, researcherMichel Seurat. [3/6 CSM]
March6: HizballahleaderShaykhSalmanal-Khalil
said Seurat was still alive, and that there was no
such organizationas "Islamic Jihad," which is a
"cover name" for anothergroup. [3/7 FBIS]
SLA forces shelled southern Shi'i villages for
eight hours in retaliationfor attacks on its troops.
Thirty houses were reported destroyed. Beirut
radio said Israeli artilleryparticipated.One man
died and five people were wounded. [3/7 FBIS]
March 8: Four French television crewmen were
kidnappedin Beirut. A caller from Islamic Jihad
said one of two Frenchdiplomatsit held would be
killedif Francedid not arrangefor the returnof two
pro-IranianIraqi students deported to Baghdad.
[3/9 WP]
A car bomb in East Beirut killed five and
wounded 30 near Phalanges party offices, and
artilleryduels across the Green Line killed two
civilians.TroopssupportingGemayelclashed with
Druze militiamennear Suq al-Gharb.Rival Pales-
tiniangroupsfoughtinside Shatilacamp, and sev-
eral residentswere reportedwounded. [3/9 NYT]
March 10: Islamic Jihadreleased a photographof
whatit said was the body of MichelSeurat,report-
edly murderedthe week before. [3/11NYT]
Frenchenvoys met with SyrianPresidentHafiz
al-Asadin an effortto secure the release of French
hostages in Lebanon. Islamic Jihad denied any
responsibility for kidnappingthe camera crew,
saying another organizationhad used its name.
[3/11CSM]
March 11: UnofficialFrench envoy Razzah Raad
begantalks withthe kidnappersof MichelSeuratin
an effort to discover if he was still alive. [3/11
FBIS]
March12: A Frenchtruce observerwas shot dead
in Beirutby a sniper. [3/13NYT]
March13: Le Monde reportedthat French intelli-
gence sources believed Seurathad been executed
several months before but that Islamic Jihad had
waited for an "opportune"moment to announce
the murder.[3/14FBIS]
March 14: Islamic Jihad released videotapes of
three Frenchmenit was holdinghostage and said
the group was giving France a "last chance" to
meet their demands, includingthe release of five
Arabsin prisonin Francefor the attemptedassas-
sinationof formerIranianprimeministerShahpour
Bakhtiarin July 1980.
The RevolutionaryJustice Organizationsaid it
had kidnappedthe French television crew. [3/15
WP]
One person was killed and eight wounded in
fighting between Amal and Palestinian gunmen
aroundBun al-Barajnarefugee camp. [3/17 FBIS]
March 16: French Ambassador to Tunisia Eric
Rouleau was denied a visa to enter Iran after
waitingin Tehran'sairportfor three days. Sources
said he sought to discuss the hostage situationin
Lebanon. [3/17AN]
March 17: Official French envoy Umran Adnan
said Raad had hamperednegotiationsby making
"ill-consideredpromises"to the kidnappers.[3/18
FBIS]
Raadsaid he was abandoninghis mission to free
the French hostages following charges his efforts
had ruinedchances for their release. [3/19 CSM]
March 20: Rival Muslim and Christian forces
foughtin Beirutand the easternmountains.Seven
people were reportedkilled. [3/21NYT]
March 26: A booby-trappedcar in East Beirut
caused more than 30 casualties. [3/26 FBIS]
497
March 27: The Lebanese pound was devalued by
16.35 per cent, to a value of between 22.5 and 23 to
the US dollar. [3/28 FBIS]
March 29: A Fiji UNIFIL soldier died of wounds
suffered the day before in a guerrilla attack north of
Israel's security zone, and a Ghanaian UNIFIL
soldier died after being wounded at Majdal Salim.
[3/30 JP]
Gemayel began a private visit to Austria. [3/29
AN]
March 30: Palestinian and Shi'i gunmen fought
around the Sabra and Shatila camps, and tension
was reported rising at Bud al-Barajna. At least
eight died and 35 were wounded, as efforts by a
coordination committee failed to stop the violence.
[3/31 NYT]
March 31: Fighting between Palestinian and Amal
gunmen resumed after an overnight ceasefire. At
least 18 were reported killed since the clashes
began. [3/31 FBIS]
April 1: The 45-member French peacekeeping
force left its posts in preparation for its departure
from Lebanon as a result of increased tensions. [4/2
NYT]
Two British teachers at the American University
of Beirut were reported missing and feared kid-
napped. [4/2 NYT]
April 3: Fighting escalated between Amal and
Palestinian fighters in Beirut. [4/4 FBIS]
The Amal movement's annual congress con-
vened in West Beirut. Anti-Berri Amal members
protested the congress. [4/4 FBIS]
Six Political Bureau members boycotted the con-
gress, and representatives from the south withdrew
because of a dispute between Berri and Dawud
Dawud, Amal chief in southern Lebanon. [4/7
FBIS]
April 4: The death toll reached 39 as the Amal-
Palestinian camp battles continued in Sabra and
Shatila. [4/5 AN]
Nabih Berri was reelected leader of the Amal
movement, and Akif Haydar was elected vice
president. [4/5 AN]
April 6: Amal-Palestinian fighting subsided in the
wake of a ceasefire agreement. PLO radio said 27
Palestinians had been killed and over 100 wounded
in the fighting. [4/7 FBIS]
April 8: A car bomb in the Israeli security zone
injured six Lebanese, including three SLA sol-
diers, and killed the driver. Beirut radio said the
Lebanese National Resistance Front was responsi-
ble, and Syrian radio said the driver was a Leba-
nese Baath party "hero." [4/9 FBIS]
A car bomb in Junieh killed 11 people, wounded
about 100 more, and set several buildings on fire.
Druze soldiers reportedly attacked a Sunni vil-
lage, Bsaba, killing 17 and setting fire to 50 houses.
[4/9 NYT]
April 9: Gunmen kidnapped a French secondary
school teacher, Michel Brian, in West Beirut. [4/10
CSMI
498
April 10: A car bomb in Sidon killed three and
woundedat least 27 people.
In Damascus, Bern and Palestine National Sal-
vationFrontleadersagreedon measuresto restore
securityto the Beirutcamps. [4/10 FBIS]
A group that did not identify itself said it had
kidnappedteacherMichel Brian. [4/11WP]
April12:TeacherMichelBrianwas releasedin the
Biqa Valley, reportedlyby hunterswho surprised
his abductors,three days after he was kidnapped.
Syrian officials said Syrian security forces had
obtainedhis release. [4/1 AN]
April 14: A 200-manSyrian-sponsoredforce made
up of PSP, Baath,Communistand NationalSyrian
Socialist party militiamenwas formed to restore
calm to Palestiniandistricts of Beirut. It will be
supervised by a 12-memberSyrian contingent.
[4/15 NYT]
Libya
(See also, Arab-IsraeliConflict,PetroleumAffairs,
RegionalAffairs, Algeria, Egypt, Sudan. For the
events of the Libyan-US militaryconfrontationof
March-April1986,see RegionalAffairs:General.)
1986
Jan. 28: Irish police said 140 weapons seized in
raids on the Irish RepublicanArmy came from
Libya. [1/29CSM]
Feb. 11: ChadianForeignMinisterGouaraLassou
said Libyanforces attackedgovernmenttroops at
CoubaOulanga,in northernChad. [2/12AN]
Libya's press agency denied the charges, saying
Libya was committedto noninterferencein Chad.
[2/12FBIS]
Feb. 17: A Soviet-builtaircraftbombedthe airport
in Ndjamena,Chad, in apparentretaliationfor a
Frenchraidagainsta Libyan-builtairportin north-
ern Chad. French officials said the aircraft was
Libyan, and that they were sending a "deterrent
force" to Chad. [2/18WP]
Feb. 21: The French press agency said Chadian
officialshad presentedat a news conference two
prisoners said to be Libyan soldiers captured in
fightingFeb. 14. Five other Libyans were report-
edly killed in clashes between Feb. 11 and 14.
Qadhdhafiaccused France of violatingthe 1984
Franco-Libyanagreementon Chad,but said Libya
would not intervene. [2/24 FBIS]
Feb. 27: In Tripoli, Algerianand Libyan delega-
tions signed a draftagreementon increased bilat-
eral cooperation.[3/7 FBIS]
March3: The Libyan governmentwas reshuffled,
and the GeneralPeople's Committee(Cabinet)was
cut from 20 to 11 members:
Jadallah Azuz al-Tahli: Secretary General
Fawzi Shakshuki:Planning
MuhammadQasim Sherlala:Treasury
 MuhammadSherifuddinal-Fituri: Information
and Culture
MubarakShamikh: Communicationsand Ma-
rine Transport
Hassan Kamal al-Mansur:Foreign Liaison Bu-
reau
MuhammadAbdallahal-Mabruk:Civil Service
IbrahimMuhammadal-TahirBishari:Economy
and Trade
Hassan Abd al-Ati al-Barghashi:Industry
AbdallahHussein Khaddura:Health
Ahmad Ibrahim:Education and Scientific Re-
search [3/8 MEED]
March 3: Kamil Hasan Maghurwas elected For-
eign Secretary by the GeneralPeople's Congress
(GPC),replacingAli Abd al-Salamal-Turayki,who
was reportedlysufferingfromill health. [3/4 FBIS]
March 4: The GPC ended its annual meeting in
Benghazi and called for the formationof suicide
squads to hit US and Israeli targets. [3/5 WP]
April 1: Libyan radio said students in Tripolihad
burnedbooks in Englishand French to "liquidate
all the foreign cultures alien to the Arabic cur-
riculae." [4/2 FBIS]
April 10: The Italian Catholic Bishop of Libya,
Msgr. Giovanni Martinelli,disappearedand had
reportedlybeen arrestedby revolutionaryguards,
along with three priests and a nun, in Benghazi.
[4/14 WP]
April 12: Officialssaid the US Justice Department
was probing Black Muslim leader Louis Far-
rakhan'svisit to Libyain Marchandhis attendance
at a "terroristconvention" in Tripoli.[4/13WP]
April 14: Italianofficialsprotestedthe detentionof
the clerics, but Libyanofficialsdeniedresponsibil-
ity, saying the abductorshad acted on their own.
[4/15CSM]
April15:The five Italianclergymembersseized the
week before were freed. [4/16CSM]
Morocco
(See also, Arab-IsraeliConflict,RegionalAffairs)
1986
Jan. 29: Moroccansin Melilla, a Spanishenclave
on the Moroccancoast, held a general strike that
turnedviolent to protest a new law makingillegal
residents liable to explusion. [1/30AN]
Jan. 31: In Casablanca,a group of 15 leftist stu-
dents were sentencedto jail terms of from three to
four years for subversionand disturbingthe peace
duringan Oct. 1984demonstration.[2/2 AN]
Muslim leader Oman MuhammadDudu called
off the Melillastrikeas a goodwillgesture,afterthe
Spanish government extended the deadline for
foreigners to put their documents in order. [2/2
AN]
Feb. 6: Amnesty International accused the Moroc-
can authorities of systematically torturing and
abusing political prisoners. Moroccan spokesmen
denied the charge. [2/6 NYT]
Feb. 10: Nearly 1000 people demonstrated in
Nador, Morocco, in support of Moroccans living in
the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla. [2/10
FBIS]
The dispute between Spanish authorities and
Moroccan residents ended after an agreement to
grant residence permits to those with roots in the
cities. [2/11 AN]
Feb. 13: In Casablanca, an appeals court imposed
sentences of from three to 20 years on defendants
charged with trying to overthrow the monarchy
and reestablish the banned leftist group, Ila al-
Imam. [2/14 AN]
Feb. 19: Work resumed at Morocco's second-
largest phosphate mine after authorities forced five
thousand miners to end a 33-day strike. [2/19 AN]
March 13: National Education Minister Azzedine
Laraki was named deputy prime minister and was
assigned to stand in for Prime Minister Karim
Lamrani while he takes medical leave. [3/22
MEED]
Oman
1986
Jan. 25: The Cabinet devalued the riyal to $2.6.
[1/30 FBIS]
March 8: MEED reported that the Housing Minis-
try was planning to encourage citizens to stay in
the interior, rather than moving to Muscat, by
offering them plots of land in towns outside the
capital. [3/8 MEED]
April 9: US Vice President George Bush arrived in
Muscat for an official visit. [4/10 AN]
Pakistan
(See also, Afghanistan)
1986
Jan. 16: Karachi University was closed after gun
battles between rival student groups left three
wounded. [1/17 FBIS]
Jan. 19: Prime Minister Muhammad Khan Junejo
formally adopted the Muslim League as the ruling
party and became its leader. [1/19 WP]
Members of the two factions of the original
Muslim League denounced Junejo's step as "an
attempt by non-Leaguers to hijack the name of the
Muslim League." [1/20 AN]
499
Jan. 21: A bomb in a butcher's shop in Peshawar March 1: A Pakistani soldier was killed when
killed an eight-year-old boy and wounded fifteen Afghan artillery shelled a border post in the
persons. [1/22 WP] Khybertribaladministrativeagency. [3/2 AN]
Jan. 22: A bomb in a mosque in Gandahab killed March 3: The government announced a peace
one person and wounded five others. Authorities settlementwith tribaldissidentsin the KhyberPass
blamed a "saboteur" from Afghanistan. [1/23 area. [3/4 WP]
FBIS] March6: Karachiradiosaid two people were killed
Jan. 23: An explosion in a Pakistan International and 12 wounded in a bomb explosion in a town
Airlines building in Peshawar killed three and in- marketnear the Afghanborder. [3/6 FBIS]
jured 24. Official sources blamed Khad, the Afghan March 9: Governmenttroops in the Gandafarea
secret service. [1/24 FBIS] were on full alertafterclashes with opium-growing
Jan. 25: "Several thousand people" reportedly villagers the day before left at least 13 dead and
demonstrated in Peshawar to demand better secur- more than 60 injured.[3/19FBIS]
ity following the bomb attack the day before. [1/27 March 10: The Frenchpress agency reportedthat
FBIS] five Ghanaiansand a Pakistanihad been arrested
Jan. 28: Universities and colleages in Northwest for participatingin a "foreign-inspiredterrorist
Frontier Province were closed after police-student network," and that Libyan businessmanAmmar,
clashes. [1/29 FBIS] who had allegedly been kidnappedthe week be-
Jan. 29: Junejo named a new Cabinet: fore, was also being held. [3/11FBIS]
Salim Saifullah: Housing March 11: About 280 Bangladeshi prisoners in
Said Mian: Water and Power Baluchistanbegana hungerstrikedemandingrepa-
Syed QasimShah:States, FrontierRegions, and triation.[3/12AN]
KashmirAffairs March 19: An attempt to kill the Iraqi consul
Muhammad Aslam Khan Khattak: Interior generalin Karachifailedwhena bombplacedin his
Mian Muhammad Yasin Khan Watto: Finance car fell out. [3/21FBIS]
Sahabzada Yaqub Khan: Foreign Affairs March21: At least 17people were injuredin rioting
Malik Noor Hayat Khan Noon: Communica- by unemployedworkersin Karachi.[3/22AN]
tions March23: In Rawalpindi,60,000people attendeda
Syed Yusuf Reza Gilani: Railways protestorganizedby the oppositionMovementfor
Hamid Nasir Chadha: Science and Technology the Restorationof Democracy(MRD). [3/24NYT]
Iqbal Ahmad Khan: Justice Thirty-fiveprisoners condemned to death es-
Ghulam Muhammad Khan Manika: Culture and caped from the Sukkurjail in the biggestjail break
Tourism in the history of Pakistan.One prisonerand a jail
Muhammad Khaqan Abbasi: Production guarddied in a shootout. [3/24AN]
Malik Nasim Ahmad: Education March27: ChinesePresidentLi Xiannianarrivedin
Chaudhury Shujat Hussein: Information Karachifor a brief visit. [3/28FBIS]
Sahabzada Maqsood Ahmad Laghari: Labor April 2: Authorities promised to pay $13,000 to
Mohyuddin Baluch: Commerce each familyof a dozen poppy farmerswho died in
Mir Khaji Tariri:Religious Affairs and Minori- a clash with government troops in Gandaf in
ties March.[4/3 AN]
Qazi Abdul Majid Abid: Agriculture April 4: In Karachi,about 70,000 people demon-
Shah Muhammad Pashakhuro: Health strated against the government on the seventh
Muhammad Hanif Tayyub: Oil and Natural Re- anniversaryof the execution of formerprimemin-
sources ister ZulfiqarAli Bhutto. [4/5 NYT]
Syed Zaffar Ali Shah: Industries April 10: Opposition leader Benazir Bhutto re-
Anwar Aziz Chaudhury: Local Government and turnedfrom self-imposedexile and was welcomed
RuralDevelopment [1/29FBIS] by "tens of thousands"of supportersin Lahore.
About 70,000 people demonstrated in Lahore in She called for new elections and urged President
favor of free elections with no limits on political Zia ul-Haqto resign. [4/10 FBIS]
parties. [1/30 WP]
Feb. 13: In Karachi, police clashed with Islamic
fundamentalist students protesting "government
inaction against lawlessness." Over 76 protesters
were arrested after they set fire to nine buses and a
police jeep. [2/14 JP]
Feb. 20: Police rescued Libyan businessman, Qatar
Ahmad Muhammad Ammar, kidnapped in Karachi (See also, RegionalAffairs)
Feb. 16. [2/21 FBIS]
Feb. 27: UAE President Shaykh Zayid ibn Sultan 1986
Al Nuhayyan arrived in Islamabad at the beginning March 16: Officials undertook the first official
of a three-day official visit. [2/28 FBIS] Qataricensus. [3/16AN]

500

Saudi Arabia
(See also, Petroleum Affairs, Regional Affairs,
Kuwait, South Yemen)
1986
March11:The ReaganadministrationnotifiedCon-
gress that it planned to sell Saudi Arabia $350
millionof advancedmissiles. [3/11NYT]
More than50 senatorsagreedto try to block the
sale because they believed Saudi Arabia had not
supported US peace moves and anti-terroristef-
forts. [3/12 NYT]
March19:KuwaitiAmirShaykhJabiral-AhmadAl
Sabah began a visit to the kingdom.[3/19FBIS]
March 24: The American Israel Public Affairs
Committee (AIPAC), the pro-Israellobby in the
US, said it wouldnot actively oppose the proposed
missile sale. [3/25 WP]
April 3: Officialsannouncedthe establishmentof
diplomaticrelationswith Peru. [4/3 FBIS]
US Vice PresidentGeorgeBush beganan official
visit. [4/3 NYT]
April 7: Bush denied he sought oil production
controls, but said falling oil prices could threaten
the security of the US. [4/7 NYT]
He emphasizedthat US-Saudidifferenceson the
state of the oil market continued and that no
common ground had been found duringhis visit.
[4/8 WP]
April9: US SenatorsFrankLautenberg(D-NJ)and
Alan Cranston(D-CA) said they would still try to
block the proposedarms sale. [4/10CSM]
April 13: King Hussein of Jordanarrivedfor dis-
cussions with King Fahd. [4/13AN]
South Yemen
1986
Jan. 17: Hundredsof foreigners were evacuated
from Aden as tank battles between supportersand
opponents of President Ali Nasir continued and
fightingspreadamong tribesmen.[1/18NYTI
Reportedly, the fighting began after Ali Nasir
attempted a massacre of his rivals at a Jan. 13
meetingof the rulingparty's Politburo.[2/1 NYT]
Jan. 18: Observers said the clashes were drifting
toward tribal warfare, with Dhali and Awaliq
tribesmensupportingrebel leadersagainstthe gov-
emnmentof PresidentAli Nasir and Dathinatribes-
men. [1/19 NYT]
Jan. 19: North YemenPresidentAli AbdallahSalih
said that PLO fighterswould begin supervisinga
ceasefire. [1/21 FBIS]
Rebels loyal to former presidentAbd al-Fattah
Ismailclaimedvictory aftersix days of fighting.As
many as four differentgroupswere reportedvying
for power. [1/20NYT]
Jan. 23: Riyadhradio said neitherside had gained
controland thatfightingcontinuedin Khurmaksar.
PLO deputy commanderKhalil al-Wazirsaid the
PLO had abandonedmediationefforts because of
opppositionto PLOinterferenceby rebels who felt
they were near victory.
The French press agency said 18 Soviet techni-
cians had been killed in the fighting,althoughthey
had not taken sides. [1/23 FBIS]
Jan. 24: In Moscow, Prime MinisterHaydarAbu
Bakr al-Attas and Foreign Minister Abd al-Aziz
al-Dali said they supported the rebels and that
Ismailwas in controlin Aden. FrenchAmbassador
to Aden PierreAudebertreportedthat 10,000peo-
ple had died, that shortages of basic necessities
were acute, and thatrebels were in controlof most
of Aden. He said the conflicthad tribalroots. [1/24
FBIS]
Jan. 25: Ali Nasir said he would fight to regain
power. [1/26AN]
Attas was named interim head of state and
returnedfrom Moscow. Aden Airport reopened,
and communicationswere restored. The where-
abouts of Ali Nasir were unknown.[1/26 WP]
Jan. 26: Bulldozers began removing debris from
Aden, and there were mass burialsfor victims of
the fighting. Attas met with Soviet officials to
discuss ways to stabilize the situation, and the
Soviet Union expressed support for the new re-
gime. [1/27 WP]
Jan. 30: Muscat radio said fightingcontinued in
Abyan Governoratebetween Ali Nasir's support-
ers and opponents. [1/30 FBIS]
Jan. 31: Attas said his governmentwould try to
improve relations with more conservative Arab
states seeking an "internationalgood neighbor
policy."
Yemen Socialist Party CentralCommitteeSec-
retarySalim Salih Muhammadsaid South Yemen
wouldtry to improveties with the West. [2/1NYT]
Feb. 1: UAE newspapersreportedthat fierce fight-
ing continued in Lahij between opponents and
backersof the regime. [2/3 FBIS]
Feb. 6: The CentralCommitteeelected Ali Salim
al-Bid secretarygeneral and Salim Salih Muham-
mad assistantsecretary. [2/7 FBIS]
Deposed presidentAli Nasir arrivedin Damas-
cus for talks with Syrian PresdientHafiz al-Asad,
followinga visit to Libya. [2/10 FBIS]
Feb. 8: Attas was approved as chairmanof the
reconstitutedPresidium,and was also appointed
ministerof labor. OtherPresidiummemberswere:
MuhammadAwad al-Saadi,Ali Ahmadal-Sallami,
TahaAli Salih, Sultanal-Dawshi,FathiyaMuham-
mad Abdallah,MahdiAbdallahSaid, Husayn Abu
Bakral-Mihdar,Aydahali Said, SaidAbd al-Khayr
al-Nuban,ShaykhYahya AbdallahQahtani.
Cabinetappointmentswere as follows:
501
 Yasin Said Numan:Chairmanof the Councilof Feb. 1: Sudanese People's Liberation Army
Ministers (SPLA) radio said SPLA troops had captured the
Salih Munasseral-Siylayli:Interior Upper Nile town of Ler, inflicting heavy casualties.
Salih Abu Bakribn Husaynun:Energyand Min- [2/3 FBIS]
erals Feb. 3: The French press agency reported that
Abd al-Aziz al-Dali:Foreign Affairs more than a dozen people were killed in fighting at
Said Salih Salim:State Security Port Sudan between Muslims of the Ibn Amir tribe
Salih Ubayd Ahmad:Defense and Christian Nubians from Kurdufan, following
MahmudSaid Mahdi:Finance simultaneous election campaign meetings by the
MuhammadAhmadSalman:Housing two groups. [2/3 FBIS]
RashidMuhammadThabit:UnityAffairs Security was restored to Juba prison after 24
Farajibn Ghanim:Planning prisoners mutinied to protest the delay in their
AbdallahMuhammadUthman:Industry, Trade cases due to a five-month strike by judges in
and Supplies Equatoria Province. [2/5 FBIS]
Salih AbdallahMuthanna:Transport Feb. 5: After last-minute negotiations failed, the
UthmanAbd al-JabbarRashid:Fisheries IMF refused to extend more credit to Sudan. [2/6
Abd al-WasiAhmadSallam:Justice and Awqaf FBIS]
AhmadAli Muqbil:Agriculture Feb. 6: An Army report said government forces
MuhammadAhmadJirghum:Culture had defeated a 1500-man rebel force in Upper Nile
Salim Abu Bakr Bu Silm:Education Province, killing 204. [2/7 AN]
Said Sharaf:Public Health Feb. 22: Al-Sahafa reported that 12 members of the
Feb. 15: The governmentappealedfor blood dona- family of deposed president Jaafar al-Numayri had
tions for the hundredswoundedin January'sfight- been arrested for distributing leaflets attacking the
ing. [2/16 NYT] government. [2/23 AN]
Feb. 10: Aden radioannouncedthat Abd al-Fattah Feb. 26: UN officials said rebel leader John Garang
Ismail had died Jan. 13 in the fighting. had denied their request to allow a famine relief
Officialssaid 500 "mercenaries,"who supported convoy into rebel-held southern Sudan, where at
Ali Nasir, most from Saudi Arabia, had been least one million people are threatened with fam-
arrested. [2/11 FBIS] ine. [2/27 WP]
March 6: Families of detainees reportedly pro- SPLA radio reported that 29 government sol-
tested in Aden againstthe new regime. [3/7 FBIS] diers died and "scores" were wounded in a battle
March 10: Cairo's press agency announced that with rebels near Adok on Feb. 20, and that 39 had
prominentYemenijournalistZakiBarakathaddied been killed in an ambush at Malwal-Gorbei on Feb.
as a result of torturein Aden. [3/11 FBIS] 22. [2/27 FBIS]
March29: The governmentannounceda "general March 1: The Umma party elected Sadiq al-Mahdi
amnesty" for persons involved in "crimes con- party leader. [3/6 FBIS]
nected with the conspiracy of 13 Janaury," and March 2: Sudan's news agency (SUNA) reported
released 720 persons fromjail. [3/31FBIS] that nine civilians and 220 military men who par-
ticipated in the "ethnic plot" of September 1985
would be tried on charges of subversion. [3/3 FBIS]
March 5: Former presidential affairs minister Baha
al-Din Idris was sentenced to 14 years in prison for
Sudan corruption during the years of the Numayri regime.
[3/7 FBIS]
SPLA troops reportedly captured Rumbek, in
1986 Bahr al-Ghazal Province. [3/7 FBIS]
Jan. 18: Sudaneseeligibleto vote beganregistering March 9: Siwar al-Dhahab acknowledged that
across the country. [1/19 NYT] Rumbek had fallen. [3/10 FBIS]
Jan. 30: Finance Minister Sid Ahmad Tayfur ar- March 12: Prime
Minister Al-Jazuli Dafallah, De-
rived in Washington to begin talks with Inter-
fense Minister Uthman Abdallah, and Foreign Min-
nationalMonetaryFund(IMF)officialsin an effort
to avert a threatenedsuspensionof Sudan'smem- ister Ibrahim Ayyub arrived in Libya for an official
bershipbecause of unpaiddebt to the organization. visit. [3/13 FBIS]
[1/31CSM] March 17: SPLA radio said government troops in
Foreign Minister Ibrahim Taha Ayyub said Juba had mutinied when ordered to go to Rumbek,
Sudanand Ethiopiahad agreedto worktogetherto and that Juba airport was closed "indefinitely." At
solve bilateral problems following a visit to least 65 men were reported killed. [3/18 FBIS]
Djibouti by Transitional Military Committee March 20: Representatives of the pro-government
(TMC) chief Abd al-RahmanSiwar al-Dhahabto National Alliance for Salvation and the SPLA
meet EthiopianPresidentMengistuHaile Mariam. began talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Alliance
[3/2 FBIS] delegation protested the presence of Mansur

502
Khalid, a formerministerof the Numayriregime, March 17: Syrian television said a "Lebanese
as an SPLA delegate. [3/21FBIS] agent of the Iraqiregime" was responsiblefor the
Rebel leder Garangaddressedthe meeting and blast. [3/18WP]
said he would not allow elections in the south March 19: An Iraqi spokesmandenied the Syrian
because he had not been consulted. He ruledout a charge. [3/20FBIS]
ceasefire and talks with "the Sudanese military
cliquethatstill pursuesthe discreditedpolicy of the
defunctregime." [3/22AN]
March22: The governmentpostponedelections in
37 of 68 southernconstituenciesbecause "security
Tunisia
problems" had prevented many from registering. (See also, Turkey)
[3/23 NYT]
March 23: Rebels captured a Norwegian relief 1986
workerin the south. [3/27AN] Jan. 19:Le Mondereportedthat in the strugglefor
March24: Defense MinisterAbdallahsaid Ethiop- influencewith PresidentHabibBourguiba,his wife
pia was "directlyinvolved" in militaryoperations Wassilaand son HabibJr. had been banishedfrom
in the south. [3/24 FBIS] the presidentialpalacealong with longtimeadviser
SPLA radiodeniedEthiopiawas supplyingarms AllalaLaouiti,andthatthe president'sniece, Saida
to the rebels. [3/27 FBIS] Sassi, and adviserMansourSkhiri,had supplanted
March30: Abdallahaccused the US of meddlingin them. [1/19LM]
Sudan'sinternalaffairsafteran announcementthat Jan. 22: Bourguibarelieved Mongi Kooli of his
the US had haltedaid to Sudanbecause Sudanhad post as personal representativeof the president.
accepted Libyan militaryaid. [3/31 FBIS] [1/23FBIS]
The Cabinetdecided to dissolve institutionsset Jan. 29: The administrativecommitteeof the Gen-
upby the NumayriregimeforintegrationwithEgypt, eral Union of Tunisian Workers(UGTT) met in
but said cooperationwith Egyptwouldcontinue. Tunis and decided to withdrawits recognitionof
Former vice president Muhammadal-Tayyib the UGTTExecutive Bureau. [2/3 FBIS]
was sentenced to 20 years in prisonfor his role inFeb. 1: Parisradiosaid the pro-governmentfaction
the airlift of EthiopianJews via Sudan to Israel. of the UGTT was in control of all UGTT Offices.
[4/1 AN] [2/3 FBIS]
April 1: The first multipartyelections since 1968 Feb. 3: Sadek Allouche, secretary general of the
began, with 30 parties competingfor 301 seats in UGTT, announced he was resigning in favor of
the National Assembly, which will choose a gov- jailed UGTTleaderHabibAchour. [2/4 FBIS]
ernmentand write a constitution.[4/2 NYT] Feb. 12: MuhammadSalah Ayari was namedjus-
April 12: Voting ended quietly after 12 days. tice minister,replacingRidhaibn Ali. [2/13AN]
Sources said rebels had been more active in the Feb. 22: In Tunis, five opposition parties, the
south duringthe election than at any other time inCommunistparty, the Movementof Social Demo-
the past. [4/13 WP] crats, the PopularUnity Movement, the Progres-
April 13: Diplomatsin Sudaneseembassiesaround sive Socialist Movement, and the Islamic Ten-
the world began a two-day strike to protest a law dency Movement, announcedthe formationof a
authorizingthe governmentto appointas ambassa- Committeeof Solidaritywith the UGTTandfor the
dors personsoutsidethe diplomaticcorps. [4/14WP] Defense of DemocraticFreedom. [2/27 FBIS]
March8: US Vice PresidentGeorgeBush beganan
officialvisit. [3/8 AN]
March20: One hundredseventy-six persons sen-
tenced following the Jan. 1984 bread riots were
released. [3/21 FBIS]
Syria March22: Prime MinisterMuhammadMzali flew
to Algiers for the first official
(See also, Arab-IsraeliConflict, RegionalAffairs, Algerianand Tunisianruling joint meeting of the
parties. [3/23AN)]
Jordan,Lebanon, South Yemen, Sudan)

1986
Feb. 12: In elections, the rulingBaathpartywon a
majorityof 129 seats in the 195-memberParlia- Turkey
ment. The National Progressive Front won 57 (See also, Arab-IsraeliConflict, RegionalAffairs,
seats, and the Communistpartywon 9. [2/13AN] Cyprus)
March 13: Voice of Lebanon said a truck full of
explosives blew up in Al-Abbasiyin Square in 1986
Damascus, killing or woundingover 100 people. Jan. 28: Social DemocraticPartyPopulist(SDPP)
[3/17 FBIS] ChairmanAydin Guven Gurkanchargedthe gov-

503
emnment'sattempt to oust SDPP deputies who
were elected before the mergerof the Populistand
Social Democracypartieswas illegal. [1/29TDN]
Feb. 7: A martiallaw court in Ankaraacquitted59
intellectuals prosecuted for demanding broader
democraticfreedoms. [2/8 TDN]
Feb. 11: In Ankara, three journalists were sen-
tenced to jail termsof six yearseach for attempting
to set up a religiousstate. [2/12AN]
Feb. 14: Formerministerof state Ismail Ozdaglar
was sentencedto two years in prisonfor accepting
bribes. [2/15AN]
Feb. 17:PrimeMinisterTurgutOzal flew to Britain
for an officialvisit. [2/17TDN]
March 6: Five policemen from Kars were sen-
tenced to three-year jail terms for torturing a
detainee to death. [3/7 AN]
March 8: MEED reported that 200 prisoners in
Adanahad ended a hungerstrikebegunin Decem-
ber 1985to protest prisonconditions. [3/8 MEED]
March 10: A military appeals court in Istanbul
orderedthe release of six membersof the Turkish
Peace Association chargedwith subversion. [3/11
TDN]
March 14: Leftist newspaper Cumhuriyeteditor
OkayGonensinandjournalistIlhanSelgukwent on
trial in Istanbul for insulting the president and
army. [3/15TDN]
March17: MotherlandpartyfounderVuralAnkan
said he would found a new, Citizen's party. [3/18
TDN]
Separatistsambushedand murderedfour police
privates in the Komurkoy district of Adiyaman.
[3/18TDN]
March20: A representativeof the Kurdishguerrilla
movementsaid 1500soldiershad been killedin the
past 19 months in eastern Turkey. [3/21NYT]
March21: Ozal begana four-dayvisit to Iraq. [3/22
AN]
March 22: US Secretary of State George Shultz
arrivedfor an officialvisit. [3/23AN]
March23: TurkishofficialssurprisedShultz, who
said he had been "sandbagged,"by linking the
renewal of military base rights to major trade
concessions by the US, includingan increasein the
textile quota. [3/24 NYT]
March 24: US and Turkish officials said their
differenceswere too greatto permitagreementon a
new defense and economic pact duringthe Shultz
visit. [3/25 NYT]
504
Kurdishseparatistsreportedlykilled 11 Turks,
includingthree soldiers, in an attack in the prov-
ince of Siirt. [3/25AN]
March 30: The Helsinki Watch organizationsaid
there was continued torture in Turkish prisons
despite recent moves by authorities to permit
greater exercise of civil liberties. The Turkish
Embassy in Washingtondenied the charges. [3/30
NYT]
April8: The WashingtonPost reportedthat ethnic
Turksin Bulgariahad been subjectedto terrorand
repressionin the government'sforced assimilation
drive, which reachedits height in early 1985. [4/8
WP]
Ozal flew to Saudi Arabiafor a brief visit. [4/9
TDN]
April 10: Ozal completedan officialvisit to India.
[4/11TDN]
April 11: Medicalsources said the IstanbulCham-
ber of Physicianshad begun investigating30 doc-
tors suspected of assisting torturersor "disprov-
ing" allegationsof torture.[4/21AN]
April 12: Authoritiesarrestedeight Turksand two
Tunisiansplanningto attackTurkish,US, andIraqi
targetsin Turkey. [4/13AN]
UAE
(See also, PetroleumAffairs,Pakistan)
1986
Jan. 16:A bombexplodedin a travelagencyin Abu
Dhabi. [1/18MEED]
Jan. 17: UAE Ambassadorto Britain,Muhammad
MahdiTajir, paid $3 millionfor the release of his
brother,businessmanSadiq, kidnappedin London
four days before. [1/18WP]
March 21: PLO ChairmanYasir Arafat said the
UAE hadresumedfinancialassistanceto the PLO.
[3/22AN]
Yemen
1986
April10:In Sanaa,US Vice PresidentGeorgeBush
was urged to support the rights of Palestinians.
[4/11WP]