"UNRWA's mandate is to serve Palestinian refugees. To achieve this goal, the headquarters in Vienna agreed to Mr. Berri's conditions," the spokeswoman said. She declined to be named.

Amal militiamen allowed about 125 Palestinians to leave Bourj el-Barajneh yesterday, bringing to 275 the number of Palestinian women and children who have been permitted the leave.

All have gone to west Beirut's Mar Elias camp, controlled by Druse militiamen, who have stayed neutral in the fighting around Bourj el-Barajneh and the nearby Chatilla camp.

Police said eight people were killed and 19 wounded in Friday's clashes with mortars and rocket-propelled grenades around Bourj el-Barajneh and Chatilla.

The casualties raised the roll from three months of fighting in Beirut and south Lebanon to at least 566 killed and 1,454 wounded.

Palestinian spokesmen accused Amal of attacking Bourj el-Barajneh with mortars at midday, killing five children and wounding 10.

Amal accused the guerrillas of shelling Shiite slums ringing the camp, killing one person and wounding four.

Police said four guerrillas of Yasser Arafat's Palestine Liberation Organization were wounded in the 15-minute Israeli air raid on buildings in the Mieh Mieh camp outside Sidon, 25 miles south of Beirut.

Three helicopter gunships opened fire at 1 a.m. as Israeli jets dropped flares to illuminate five targets in and around the hillside camp, police reported.

It was Israel's first nighttime air attack in about two years. The Israeli command said its pilots reported accurate hits and returned safely to base.