World IN BRIEF : LEBANON : Patriarch Issues Plea for Peace Initiative
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Lebanon’s Christian Maronite patriarch appealed to the country’s factions to lay down their arms and give a Vatican peace plan a chance. Patriarch Nasrallah Butros Sfier backs the Vatican plan to end inter-Christian strife and the 15-year civil war, but official sources said the Syrian-backed government of President Elias Hrawi has decided to reject the initiative and will so inform Papal Nuncio Pablo Puente when they meet in Muslim West Beirut today. Four months of fighting between rival Christian forces loyal to Maj. Gen. Michel Aoun and Samir Geagea have claimed more than 1,080 lives.
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