December 12, 1986

Disputing official accounts, Honduran refugees in this border hamlet say Nicaraguan rebel units, as well as Honduran forces, took part in the heavy fighting against Nicaraguan troops in recent days. Several refugees who arrived here in the last few days after fleeing their farms when the fighting swept over them also confirmed that there had been major Sandinista attacks well inside Honduras aimed at both the rebels and Honduran Army positions. They said they saw Sandinista forces burn at least two Honduran border hamlets, Buena Vista and Maquingales, where they said there was heavy fighting between the Honduran and Nicaraguan armies. The fighting, they said, included air strikes, rocket barrages and mortaring on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Lives Become Unbearable Farther to the north, the refugees said, Nicaraguan rebels, known as contras, fought the Sandinistas well inside Honduras near the hamlets of Arenales, Espanolitos and Zepeda. Officials here have described the fighting as exclusively between Honduran Army and Nicaraguan units, failing to mention the attacks on the contras.

Aides to President Reagan are said to have concluded, for the first time in his tenure, that they are unable to quell a major crisis and have begun to ask former White House officials for advice. Present and former officials said today that the decision to look for outside help reflected concern in the White House that the crisis over the secret Iran arms sale and the diversion of proceeds to Nicaraguan rebels was increasing. The attempt by Presidential aides to solicit advice is being done with the approval of Donald T. Regan, the chief of staff. Suggestions Being Sought In addition to seeking advice on moves to end the crisis, the solicitations are apparently also an effort by Mr. Regan to dampen demands that he resign, the sources said. But the advice being given by former White House aides includes suggestions that Mr. Regan should, in fact, resign.

The Exxon Corporation, in a move to close the book on one of its most controversial chapters, said yesterday that it had agreed to sell its Reliance Electric Company for $1.35 billion to an investment group made up of the unit's management, Citicorp Capital Investors and Prudential-Bache Securities. Exxon said the sale would result in an after-tax gain of $275 million, but it would not specify the quarter in which the gain would be taken. However, the company said it expected to complete the sale by Dec. 31, apparently for tax purposes. Leading Motor Manufacturer Exxon's 1979 acquisition of the Cleveland-based Reliance, one of the nation's leading motor manufacturers, is widely cited as one of the major gaffes in industry.

More and more healthy babies waiting for foster homes are being kept for months in New York City hospitals despite calls from thousands of families offering homes. Since July, at least 4,000 families have telephoned the city to offer foster homes, city officials say. Since August, homes have been found for 166 of the infants. But 167 infants remain, as ''boarder babies,'' in city hospitals, and each month at least 50 others, abandoned or taken from neglectful parents, are added to their number. Doctors say the babies in the hospitals face a continued risk of emotional and physical damage from a lack of constant nurturing. Some babies have stayed so long that they have learned to walk and must be tethered in their cribs to keep from falling out.

Governor Cuomo announced an agreement yesterday to overhaul labor relations on the city's subways and buses, which for decades have been marked by illegal strikes and strife. Officials on both sides said the agreement, between the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its principal union, would sharply reduce the danger of strikes and eliminate the specter long familiar to New Yorkers of transit workers threatening to walk off their jobs in the middle of the night unless a new contract was reached. Key Points of Agreement The agreement, which is included in a larger legislative package, included these key components: * A permanent system would be established to arbitrate impasses in labor negotiations. Ad-hoc arbitration procedures had been established in 1982 and 1985. Until then the principal union, Local 100 of the Transport Workers Union had a policy of not working without a contract, which produced long strikes in 1966 and 1980 and many near strikes.