Fighting Flares At Lebanese Refugee Camp
Heavy fighting resumed Friday between the Lebanese army and Islamic militants at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon. Army tanks and armor massed outside the camp, apparently preparing to storm it.
Under an artillery cover, about 50 armored carriers and tanks massed at the northern edge of the camp and drove toward the forward-most positions, according to an AP Television News crew at the scene. But it was not clear whether the Lebanese troops were already making a push.
Military officials would not comment.
Plumes of smoke rose out of the Nahr el-Bared camp where Fatah Islam militants have been holed up in a 13-day siege by the Lebanese army. The shelling also ignited fires in the camp that spewed black smoke.
The militants have barricaded themselves in residential neighborhoods of narrow, winding streets and apartment buildings.
About 50 armored carriers, battle tanks and military vehicles from elite units massed at the northern edge of the camp and drove toward the forwardmost positions, according to APTN television crew at the scene.
There was no confirmation that the army units were making a final push to take over the camp, or were just advancing to grab territory and isolate the militants in pockets. But a significant decrease at one point in the shelling, accompanied by a rise in machine gun fire from armored carriers and exchanges of automatic rifle fire, suggested the troops were already engaging the militants.
The bombardment intensified several hours later. Lebanese Broadcasting Corp., a leading television station, said troops were attempting to seize the main offices of Fatah Islam in the northeastern part of the camp in the Samed neighborhood. But Al-Arabiya television said troops seized militant sniper positions.
Military officials would not comment on the troop movements and journalists were pushed back further from the camp. But a statement by the army command said troops came under fire from the militants and the army was "responding with accurate and decisive fire to deter them." The statement said the army was at the same time avoiding civilian casualties.
The concentrated bombardment began in the morning, with heavy barrages targeting all parts of the camp.
On Thursday, a Lebanese soldier was killed by sniper fire from inside the refugee camp, security officials said.
The death rose to 32 the number of Lebanese soldiers killed since fighting between the army and Fatah Islam militants broke out at the Nahr el-Bared camp on May 20. At least 20 civilians and about 60 militants have also been killed.
The government has vowed to crush the militants, although an all-out assault on the camp would risk sparking violence elsewhere in the country.
Thousands of Palestinians have fled the camp, but thousands more remain inside. Fatah Islam claims to have more than 500 fighters in the camp, armed with automatic weapons, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.
Sporadic gunfire exchanges have continued daily since a truce halted three days of heavy fighting at the beginning of the siege.
The security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give official statements to the media, said the soldier killed Thursday was hit by militants' sniper fire from inside the camp. They said three soldiers were wounded during overnight fighting.
Lebanese Army Commander Gen. Michel Suleiman vowed to track down the militants responsible for the deaths of Lebanese soldiers.
"We are determined to arrest the killers who attacked the army and Lebanese civilians and innocent Palestinians and bring them to justice," Suleiman said during a tour of the military positions around Nahr el-Bared Thursday in the northern city of Tripoli.
About 400,000 Palestinian refugees live in refugee camps across the country, many of which are rife with armed groups.
At the Ein el-Hilweh camp in southern Lebanon, a gun battle erupted late Thursday between Islamic militants of the Jund al-Sham group and the mainstream Fatah faction of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. At least two explosions were heard amid the crackle of gunfire, but there was no immediate word of any casualties.
Jund al-Sham, which is Arabic for Soldiers of Historic Syria, has claimed responsibility or been blamed for a number of bombings and gun battles, mainly in Lebanon and Syria. Syrian officials have portrayed it as the most active militant group in their country.
Meanwhile, the political leader of the militant Palestinian group Hamas, Khaled Mashaal, called for a peaceful solution to the standoff between the army and militants at Nahr el-Bared.
"We are against Palestinian interference in Lebanese affairs and against targeting any Lebanese soldier. But we also don't accept the bombardment of the camp and don't accept our people to be punished in Nahr el-Bared or in other places," he told reporters in Syria. "We call for a peaceful solution to the Nahr el-Bared problem to avoid more casualties."