Rival Christian forces today used a cease-fire to stockpile weapons and redeploy troops for their next battle, while civilians fled their ruined neighborhoods for refuge in safer Moslem areas. Samir Geagea, leader of the Lebanese Forces militia, refused to give any concessions to Gen. Michel Aoun and said his fighters were ready for war. A source close to Geagea's command said his militia had adopted a new military plan to block any attempt by Aoun to storm its strongholds if the current cease-fire collapses. ``If clashes break out anew, it will be a tough, crushing battle throughout the Christian enclave,'' the source said. Snipers killed one person and wounded five in various parts of the Christian enclave today, police said. By police count, the fight for the 310-square-mile enclave has killed at least 673 people and wounded 1,877, in addition to inflicting more than $750 million in damage. The dead include 97 soldiers killed since the confrontation broke out Jan. 30. The fighting began when Geagea refused Aoun's demand that he disband the Lebanese Forces, the largest Christian militia in Lebanon. Geagea's 6,000-strong militia has deployed about one-third of its fighters in east Beirut, the military source said. They are to defend its urban strongholds and deny Aoun access to the port through the streets of the Ashrafiyeh district. Aoun lost the port in the early days of the fighting. Military analysts believe Aoun must regain control of the port to ensure safe supply lines by sea before accepting any peace settlement. The Lebanese Forces moved new heavy fire power into place in the Kesrouan mountains to harass Aoun's back if he tries to move into the port area, the source said. The upgraded fire power includes about 120 truck-mounted multi-barreled rocket launchers brought out of weapons depots. The launchers, obtained from Iraq more than a year ago, can fire 40 122mm shells a minute. Geagea's men are outnumbered by Aoun's army at least 3-to-1 and hoped to counter his superiority with their upgraded weapons, the source said. Lebanese forces militiamen, with nearly 15 years' experience in street battles, ``are waiting for Aoun's army in the narrow alleys of Ashrafiyeh, which has become a huge garrison,'' the source said. The militia force defending the port, Ashrafiyeh and the military headquarters of Karantina have been beefed up from 1,200 to 2,000 men, the source said. The surrender of Aoun's troops Saturday at Adma, an isolated pocket in Kesrouan, freed the militiamen for the new deployment. The source said the bulk of the militia's fighting force, backed by tanks and armored personnel carriers, was deployed along the southern and eastern edges of Kesrouan province, separated from Aoun's troops by a no-man's-land of just a few hundred yards. A police spokesman, who cannot be named in line with regulations, confirmed that both factions were bolstering their forces. Aoun's army stockpiled ammunition, especially tank cannon and howitzer rounds, in depots in the Metin mountains northeast of the capital. Meanwhile, civilians continued to desert the Christian enclave, seeking refuge in the predominately Moslem areas outside the enclave. The Christian communities, dispersed throughout Lebanon before the civil war, have gradually consolidated in the enclave since 1975.
