Fighting flares at Palestinian refugee camp

Sporadic gunfire and artillery shelling rang out from a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon today as the army fought to uproot Fatah Islam militants holed up in the settlement.

The intermittent fighting 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.

A senior military official said the number of soldiers killed during intense fighting on Saturday had risen to 11. The official said 40 others were wounded, some seriously.

It was the highest casualty toll in one day since fighting began May 20 – the worst internal violence in Lebanon since the 1975-90 civil war.

Another soldier, wounded earlier at the camp, died of his wounds yesterday, bringing to 58 the total number of soldiers killed in the fighting.

Today the army reopened the main road linking Tripoli with the province of Akkar and the Syrian border, which was closed on Saturday.

Taking advantage of the relative calm, the Red Cross along with the Palestinian Red Crescent evacuated at least 50 civilians from Nahr el-Bared. They also pulled out two bodies from under the rubble.

Although most of Nahr el-Bared’s residents have fled, thousands of civilians remain inside.

In a statement issued on Saturday, the army said it had taken control of several buildings in the camp, clearing them of mines and explosives.

“The troops are continuing to tighten the grip on the gunmen in order to force them to abandon their weapons and surrender”, the army statement said, adding that some of the militants were fleeing to residential areas inside the camp.

A senior Fatah Islam commander denied reports that the army was making advances and said fighters were holding their ground against the soldiers.

“We are on the front lines across from them,” Abu Hureira, Fatah Islam’s deputy commander, said.

Abu Hureira, a Lebanese whose real name is Shehab al-Qaddour, dismissed as rumours some media reports that he or Fatah Islam leader Shaker Youssef al-Absi had been wounded. He said some fighters were lightly injured “but it’s nothing compared to them”, he said, referring to Lebanese army casualties.

He said the militants were still fighting with the same tenacity, claiming that Fatah Islam fighters attacked an army position on the northern edge of the camp on Friday and seized weapons from Lebanese army soldiers.