Lebanon vows to destroy militant group
TRIPOLI, Lebanon – Lebanon’s prime minister vowed Thursday to wipe out an Islamic militant group barricaded in a Palestinian refugee camp, raising the prospect that the army will either storm the camp, in what would likely be a bloody battle, or dig in for a long siege to force its surrender.
Sporadic gunfire, which grew heavier for a short period after nightfall, marred the two-day-old truce as the army moved troops around the Nahr el-Bared camp. But the troops did not attempt to advance, apparently giving time for negotiations and for the militants to comply with a government ultimatum to surrender or face a military assault.
Fighters from the al-Qaida-inspired Fatah Islam militant group, estimated in the hundreds, have barricaded themselves in the camp, saying they will fight off any Lebanese attack.
The renewed exchanges Thursday night, which each side blamed on the other, illustrated the precarious nature of the standoff and the possibility of increased violence at any time.
Security officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to talk to reporters, said army positions came under heavy machine gun fire from Fatah Islam militants followed by rocket-propelled grenades. They said the army “dealt” with the source of fire.
Abu Salim Taha, a spokesman for the militants, countered on Al-Jazeera television from inside the camp by saying it was the army that opened fire. He said the group’s fighters remain committed to the truce.
However, Taha repeated that they will never surrender or flee. “This is impossible. We will fight until the last moment, the last drop of blood and the last bullet,” he said.
The fighting, which broke out Sunday when police raided suspected Fatah Islam hideouts in Tripoli while searching for men wanted in a bank robbery, has killed some 50 combatants and many civilians. Thousands of Palestinian civilians – mainly women and children – have fled the camp on the outskirts of this northern port city, but many thousands remain inside.
Most of those fled the camp after the truce took hold Tuesday packed into the nearby Beddawi refugee camp. They lined up at U.N.-run schools and clinics with registration cards, hoping to get food and mattresses. The camp’s six schools were overflowing with refugees, who said up to 50 people were sleeping in each classroom.