Druze gunmen release kidnapped archbishop

A Lebanese Christian archbishop was set free after his kidnapping roused fears of full-scale conflict between Christians and Druze Moslems. The state radio and television said the Maronite archbishop of Tyre, Josef Khoury, was released by Druze gunmen after direct pleas from Lebanese President Amin Gemayel. The abduction followed a weekend of feuding between Druze and Christians in which about 100 people were kidnapped and 23 of them killed.

In other Mideast events, Israeli state radio reported that Prime Minister Menachem Begin declined to set a deadline for carrying out the agreement on withdrawing foreign forces from Lebanon. And US diplomatic sources said he was likely to visit Washington about mid-June to confer with President Reagan.