US begins new attempt to end Lebanon fighting

Fighting flared in the east of Lebanon between Palestinian factions as the US began a new initiative to try to get foreign troops out of that country. President Reagan's new special envoy to the Middle East, Robert McFarlane, began discussions with Lebanese leaders on how to get Israeli, Syrian, and Palestinian forces out of Lebanon.

The fighting between Palestinian groups was reported near the town of Baalbek. The Palestinian News Agency Wafa said Syrian troops had surrounded troops loyal to Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

While Mr. McFarlane and his team talked in Beirut, gunmen attacked a Lebanese Army tank in southern Beirut. No casualties were reported.

In southern Lebanon, Israeli forces released about 60 inmates from their hilltop prison camp at Ansar. Most of the camp's inmates are Palestinians, but a spokesman did not specify who had been released.