Two Red Cross Workers Killed In Lebanon

Two local Red Cross workers helping coordinate negotiations between the Lebanese army and Islamic militants in a besieged Palestinian refugee camp were shot to death on Monday, hospital officials said.

There were conflicting reports on how and where the workers were killed.

The National News Agency identified the dead as Boulos Maamari and Haitham Suleiman, saying they were killed near the northern edge of Nahr el-Bared camp by shelling from Fatah Islam militants holed up inside. A third worker was also critically injured, the NNA said.

But hospital officials in north Lebanon said the two Red Cross workers were killed in their vehicle as they tried to escort a Muslim scholar, who has been trying to mediate an end to fighting between the Lebanese army and the militants, out of the camp's southern entrance.

The scholar, Sheik Mohammed Haj Ali, was injured in the leg, said the hospital officials from Islamic Hospital in the northern city of Tripoli where the victims were taken. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity, because they were not authorized to speak publicly to the media.

Red Cross officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Earlier, Lebanese troops exchanged sporadic gunfire with Islamic militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon on Monday as the war against al Qaeda-inspired fighters entered its fourth week.

The intermittent fighting came a day after heavy clashes erupted when the Lebanese army stepped up its bombardment of Fatah Islam militants barricaded in the Nahr el-Bared camp on the outskirts of the northern city of Tripoli.

The leading An-Nahar newspaper reported Monday that "the Nahr el-Bared battle is headed toward a big escalation," saying the Lebanese military had brought in new reinforcements, including more effective artillery and additional naval forces, while pro-Syrian Palestinian factions had joined Fatah Islam militants in their fight.

Sunday's clashes came a day after some of the heaviest fighting since June 1, when the Lebanese army — using tanks and artillery — launched a fresh offensive to drive out the Fatah Islam militants.

Saturday's fighting killed 11 soldiers, according to a senior military official. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to give official statements, said 40 others were wounded, some seriously.

It was the highest casualty toll in a single day since fighting began May 20 — the worst internal violence to engulf Lebanon since the 1975-90 civil war — reflecting the tough challenge Lebanese troops face in efforts to crush Fatah Islam militants barricaded inside the camp.

Meanwhile, another soldier, wounded earlier at the camp, died of his wounds Saturday, bringing to 58 the total number of soldiers killed in the fighting. More than 130 people in total, including at least 60 Fatah Islam militants and 20 civilians, have been reported killed in the fighting.

In a sign of continued tension outside the camp, Lebanese policemen found a hand grenade on Monday near the house of former Justice Minister Joseph Shaoul in the Christian neighborhood of Ashrafieh in the heart of Beirut, security officials said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity. Security forces blocked the road as a military bomb expert safely removed the grenade, which did not explode.

Fears of spreading chaos have also been sparked by clashes at another Palestinian refugee camp, Ein el-Hilweh in the south, and several bombings in the Beirut area.

During the relative lull Sunday, the Lebanese Red Cross along with the Palestinian Red Crescent Society evacuated some 75 civilians, mainly women, children and elderly, from Nahr el-Bared, taking them to the nearby Beddawi refugee camp, a Lebanese Red Cross official told The Associated Press.

The aid workers also pulled out two bodies from under the rubble, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to make public statements.

On Sunday, at Tripoli's main municipal stadium, thousands rallied in support of the army's battle against Fatah Islam. Pictures of fallen soldiers were put up and rival politicians and legislators from pro-government and opposition groups attended. Speakers praised the army's "heroism and sacrifices in confronting terrorism."

By nightfall, a grenade was hurled at an army checkpoint in Tripoli as two men on a motorcycle sped by, security officials said. No one was hurt and a patrol pursued and captured the attackers, who were wanted on previous warrants and were not believed to be linked to the militants.