MIDDLE EAST: Mr Mahmoud Abbas, Yasser Arafat's interim successor, has escaped injury in a Gaza gunfight triggered by hostile militants, as Palestinian officials set January 9th for elections to replace the late president and avert a feared power vacuum.
The clash yesterday at a mourning tent set up for Mr Arafat was the latest sign of factional anarchy challenging his would- be moderate heirs who are favoured by Washington as potential peacemakers with Israel but lack a popular power base.
The incident began after gunmen from Mr Arafat's splintered Fatah movement, shouting "No to Abu Mazen" - Mr Abbas's nickname - marched by him as he stood outside the tent, paused and began firing shots into the air. The gunmen's rifles were pointed upwards, not at Mr Abbas, and Palestinian officials said it was not an assassination attempt.
Members of Mr Arafat's presidential guard hustled Mr Abbas (69), into the tent and threw him to the ground for his safety as the militants burst in. Chaos ensued as gunmen and bodyguards began shooting at each other. In the end, two bodyguards lay dead and five other Palestinians were wounded, medics said. As gunfire blazed about him, Mr Abbas was hustled to safety. The gunmen withdrew and no one was arrested.
"We were paying condolences. Emotions were high. There was random gunfire and pushing in the crowd," a calm-looking Mr Abbas told reporters at his office afterward.
Mr Abbas is disliked by militants because he advocates a negotiated peace with Israel and has condemned suicide bombings and other violence. -