Posted on 07/11/2007 10:26:09 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
BEIRUT, Lebanon - At least 150 Palestinians fled a northern refugee camp Wednesday in anticipation of an assault by the Lebanese army battling Islamic militants holed up inside.
Most of the refugees left with the help of the Palestinian Red Crescent, said Samar Kadi, an International Committee of the Red Cross communications officer.
Those fleeing arrived on foot at the southern entrance of the Nahr el-Bared camp. They were searched by soldiers at a Lebanese army checkpoint and then climbed into vehicles sent by the Palestinian Red Crescent. The Lebanese army held many of them for interrogation, Kadi said.
Witnesses said the army was bringing in heavy reinforcements to the camp area near the northern port of Tripoli, suggesting a fresh assault was imminent.
A sniper from inside the camp killed a Lebanese soldier late Tuesday after the Fatah Islam fighters rejected repeated calls to surrender.
The mainstream Palestinian Fatah movement was reported to have called on its guerrillas inside the camp to leave as well.
The latest buildup came as the country prepared to mark the first anniversary of Israel's invasion of southern Lebanon on Thursday.
Fighting between Fatah Islam and the Lebanese army erupted May 20. Lebanon's defense minister announced June 21 that the al-Qaida-inspired militants have been defeated and declared major combat over after soldiers seized militant positions on the edges of the camp.
However, Fatah Islam fighters fled deeper into the camp and continue to engage the army in firefights daily. They have repeatedly ignored calls from the army to surrender, and all mediation efforts to end the military standoff have failed.
The battle to drive the Islamic militants out has led to significant damage to parts of the camp, once home to some 30,000 Palestinian refugees. Only a few thousand remain inside, after most residents fled to the nearby Beddawi refugee camp.
A senior military official said the Lebanese soldier was killed late Tuesday near the Nahr el-Bared camp by Fatah Islam snipers inside the settlement.
His death brought to 86 the number of Lebanese soldiers who have been killed since the fighting erupted, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements.
Fatah Islam group is believed to be made up of mostly foreign Sunni Muslim fighters, and Lebanon's Western-backed government has accused the group of trying, with Syria's backing, to launch a rebellion in the north of the country and destabilize Lebanon. Syria denies the allegations and has described Fatah Islam as a dangerous terrorist organization.
The fighting at the Palestinian refugee camp has become the worst internal violence since Lebanon's 1975-90 civil war, and is believed to have killed more than 160 people, including 86 soldiers, at least 60 militants and more than 20 civilians.
Two Lebanese army trucks block the road of the southern entrance of the Palestinian refugee camp, as in the background Palestinian carrying their belongings flee from the camp of Nahr el-Bared, in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon, Wednesday July 11, 2007. At least 150 Palestinians fled their north Lebanon refugee camp on Wednesday in anticipation of an assault by the Lebanese army battling Islamic militants holed up inside.(AP Photo)
Smoke rises from the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp during Lebanese army shelling, in north Lebanon July 11, 2007. About 160 Palestinians fled a refugee camp in north Lebanon on Wednesday as the Lebanese army prepared to launch a final assault against al Qaeda-inspired militants holed up inside. REUTERS/Omar Ibrahim (LEBANON)
A poster that shows Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah with Arabic writing reading :' more than twenty thousand missile,' is seen on a displayed armored vehicle in the southern village of Qassimiyeh, Lebanon Wednesday, July 11, 2007. Lebanon this week marks the first anniversary of last summer's devastating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas amid sectarian and political tensions that threaten to tear the country apart. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
The article is poorly written. It doesn’t say from what camp they are fleeing and don’t say where they are fleeing to.
A Lebanese worker sets a street billboard showing a Hezbollah fighter with an anti-tank rocket and the Arabic words ;'You are the coming victory,' at Beirut airport highway, Lebanon, Tuesday July 10, 2007. Lebanon this week marks the first anniversary of last summer's devastating war between Israel and Hezbollah guerrillas amid sectarian and political tensions that threaten to tear the country apart. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Smoke rises from the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon. Lebanese soldiers have tightened the noose on Islamist militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp by taking more buildings.(AFP/Joseph Barrak)
The UN and French have obviously done a great job of disarming Hezbollah in Southern Lebannon.
yup. a real bang-up job.
L
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.