NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE BULLETIN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79T00975A028900010030-8
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 9
• Document Creation Date: December 20, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 28, 2005
• Sequence Number: 30
• Publication Date: May 18, 1976
• Content Type: REPORT

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Tuesday May 18, 1976 CI NIDC 76-117C
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NATIONAL SECURITY INFORMATION
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National Intelligence Daily Cable for Tuesday may 18, 1976.
IT he NID Cable is for the purpose
of Informing senior US officials.
The severity of the fighting in Beirut over the weekend
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prompted President Franjiyah to threaten yesterday not to resign
until security improves. It is not clear whether he was acting
on his own or in keeping with an alleged secret agreement be-
tween Christian and Syrian leaders that Franjiyah will stay on
until Syria eliminates the security threat from radical Muslims.
I IThe Christians themselves appear to have initiated a
new offensive against the leftists in Beirut. The US embassy has
learned that Christian forces attacked the Muslim neighborhood
of Naba on Sunday, setting off the worst round of fighting in
the capital in months.
Both Christian and Muslim militiamen used heavy artil-
lery to shell residential areas; death tolls were especially high
in the Christian sections of'Ashrafiyah and Ayn Rummanah and in
the Palestinian refugee camp at Sabra. Although the bombardment
subsided somewhat yesterday, fighting continues in most areas
of the capital.
Tripoli remained relatively-quiet yesterday, but ten-
sion persist-/
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I Arafat returned to Beirut yesterday after conferring
over the weekend with President Asad. Arafat made no statement
on the brief visit, suggesting that the talks did not go well.
Libyan Prime Minister Jallud unexpectedly arrived in
Damascus during Arafat's meeting with Asad, which may have
added to tensions between the two leaders. Libya gives aid to
several of the radical groups that Syria has recently attacked,
and Jallud may have argued more vehemently than Arafat for an
end to Syria's campaign against the Lebanese left.
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General Obasanjo, Nigeria's head of state, announced
, on Saturday that the leader of the unsuccessful coup attempt
last February was executed earlier in the day along with at
least one other high-ranking former army officer.
According to a subsequent government announcement,
seven persons charged in the plot were executed and 56 others
uitted and discharged, including a brother of former chief
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of state Gowon. Another of Gowon's brothers reportedly received
a jail term.
I uIn his statement, Obasanjo seemed to be appealing to
Nigerians to consider the matter ended and to move on to other
things. The limited number of new executions--and the fact
that they were not carried out in the circus atmosphere that
attended the first round of executions last month--seems some-
thing of a victory for those in the ruling Supreme Military
Council who have been seeking to calm the situation.
Obasanjo also announced that Gowon has been dismissed
from the Nigerian army because of his refusal to return to
Nigeria from the UK to stand trial on charges that he master-
minded the February coup attempt. Until recently, Lagos was
paying Gowon's salary during his exile and providing him with
a number of perquisites as a former head of state.
Obasanjo announced that London is not cooperating in
, efforts to extradite Gowon. While Obasanjo said his government
considered this an "unfriendly act," he gave no indication
whether Lagos intends to press the matter or to retaliate
against the UK's considerable economic interests in Nigeria.
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Sudan is concerned that Ethiopia's planned offensive
against Eritrean rebels could lead to fighting between the two
countries.
I I Sudan anticipates that large numbers of Eritreans--
inc u ing both civilian refugees and armed rebels--will flee
across the border and that Ethiopian air and ground forces will
enter Sudanese territory in hot pursuit. Last February, Ethiopian
aircraft violated Sudanese airspace to attack Eritrean convoys
transporting arms and other supplies to the guerrillas.
Sudan would have difficulty preventing border viola-
tions or expelling large numbers of Ethiopian troops.
Relations between Sudan and Ethiopia have worsened in
recent months. Addis Ababa is angry at Khartoum's apparent un-
willingness to restrict the activity of Eritreans in Sudan.
During the past year, the Eritrean rebels have increased their
use of Sudanese airports and Red Sea port facilities to funnel
arms from supporters in the Arab world.
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The Sudanese in turn are unhappy about the unwilling-
ness of Ethiopia's ruling military council to seek a political
accommodation with the Eritreans. President Numayri tried for
over a year to mediate the conflict, but he has apparently now
given up.
Continuity, security, and heightened ideological
vigilance toward the West will be themes at the ninth East
German party congress, which opens today in East Berlin.
Major surprises are unlikely; party chief Honecker
will further refine policies that he initiated at the eighth
party congress in 1971. Unswerving loyalty to the Soviet Union
and insistence on the separate identities of the two German
states will be stressed.
The congress will adopt a new party program that bears
Honecker's firm imprint. The program serves as a clear reminder
to the East German people that the Socialist Unity Party will
continue and even enlarge its predominant role in the social
and economic fabric of society.
I IFidelity to Moscow, as enshrined in the Soviet - East
German friendship and mutual aid treaty signed last October,
will be given a prominent place at the congress. East German
spokesmen will undoubtedly reaffirm their position that support
for the USSR's leading role in "proletarian internationalism"
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is the deciding criterion of a communist party's revolutionary
credentials. These same points are likely to be underlined
by senior ideologist Suslov, who is representing the Soviet
party at the East German congress.
I A Few, if any, significant personnel changes at the
national level are expe
buro could be expanded.
More disturbances occurred yesterday on the West
Bank following the killing of a teenage Arab girl by Israeli
soldiers in Nabulus on Sunday. Israeli troops used baton
charges and a water cannon to break up large demonstrations
in Nabulus and imposed a curfew on Jenin and Balata where
rioting was reported.
I I Israeli soldiers killed a bystander yesterday while
trying to disperse a group of rock-throwing demonstrators on
the Ram Allah - Jerusalem road. The latest deaths bring the
total to nine since anti-Israeli demonstrations began four
months ago.
I The mayor of Nabulus has called for a general strike
in pro es against the shooting of the girl on Sunday and has
appealed to the UN for a commission of inquiry to visit the
region. Israeli authorities have ordered an investigation into
her death.
I A high-level Soviet official recently visited Damas-
cus to discuss acquiring port facilities for the Soviet fleet
in the Mediterranean.
The US embassy in Damascus believes that the Syrians
will not allow the Soviets to establish a naval base. Damascus
might permit the Soviets to use facilities at Latakia for stor-
ing spare parts and naval munitions, particularly if the Soviets
offer to stretch out payment terms on past Soviet-Syrian arms
deals.
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