The World - News from Dec. 13, 1988

Gunmen using silencer-equipped pistols fired four bullets into the head of a British-born Belgian teacher as he walked along a street in Muslim West Beirut, killing him instantly, police said. They identified the victim as Arthur Van Nieuwerburgh, 65, an English-language teacher at West Beirut’s Rashideen School of Languages and the Muslim-controlled Makassed Cultural Center. “We are astonished. We don’t believe it was directed at Belgians,” said Belgian Charge d’Affaires Guebert Bioul. Neighbors said Nieuwerburgh had lived in Lebanon for more than 25 years and was married to a Japanese restaurant operator. He also leaves a 15-year-old son.