18 Dead in Lebanon as Army and Militants Clash
TRIPOLI, Lebanon, June 1 — Under a hail of gunfire and mortar shells, Lebanon’s army on Friday moved closer to a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon where a group of militants has been hiding, seizing new ground in a daylong fight that left 18 dead and dozens wounded.
After days of relative quiet as the army maintained its presence outside the camp, Lebanese troops fought much of the day to seize positions that had been occupied by the militants, who belong to the Fatah al Islam militia, inspired by Al Qaeda.
Army artillery took aim at sniper perches on the northern and eastern edges of the camp, an army official said, striking tall buildings that sent plumes of smoke billowing from inside the camp.
The army said 16 people in the camp and two soldiers had been killed, with 60 civilians and 18 soldiers wounded. It said that it could not break down the deaths between militants and civilians but that the total number of people killed since fighting began on May 20 exceeded 100, including soldiers, militants and civilians.
A member of Fatah al Islam, speaking to Reuters, said that the group had lost some positions during the day’s fighting and that two of its members had died. The group’s fighters include Saudis, Syrians and other foreigners who are veterans of the insurgency in Iraq.
As the fighting died down late Friday night, it was not immediately clear whether the army offensive would end. Military officials would not comment on the army’s movements, and journalists were forced to move farther away from the camp, limiting their view of the operation.
An army official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the army was believed to have cornered Shaker al-Absi, the leader of the group, in one section of the camp, but that could not be confirmed.
The army’s strategy seemed to be to gradually reduce the militants’ bases and defenses outside the camp, Nahr al Bared, and force the fighters inside to concede. A camp resident said most of Fatah al Islam’s positions on the outskirts of the camp had been destroyed, along with numerous multistory apartment buildings that housed Palestinian refugees.
A military statement on Friday called for the militants to surrender and promised to continue pursuing them if they did not. It said some militants had fled the front lines to seek refuge deep inside the camp, “taking civilians as human shields.”
“The camp is being shelled from all sides, inside and on its outskirts; it is very hard to move to search for casualties because of the heavy fighting,” said a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who identified himself as Abu Wissam.
At its peak, Naher al Barad was home to some 40,000 refugees, but the population has fallen significantly over the past two weeks as the clashes erupted. Abu Wissam said at least 8,000 refugees remained trapped inside as the fighting flared Friday.
Lebanese television reported that the army had killed and captured more than 10 militants who were seeking to flee the camp’s northern entrance, but the reports could not be independently verified.
Television reports showed Russian T-55 tanks, French-made Panhard tanks and American-built armored personnel carriers moving closer to the camp, some saddled with sandbags for protection.
Sporadic skirmishes have continued since a cease-fire took hold last week. The army has been poised to enter the camp since then, but has allowed Palestinian leaders time to try to negotiate a peaceful solution to the siege.
Palestinian leaders pleaded for calm on Friday.
Under an agreement signed 39 years ago, the army is not allowed to enter any of Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps. A full-scale attack on the Naher al Barad camp has been widely viewed as politically fraught, with some Lebanese leaders, including Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, declaring the borders of the camp a “red line.”
In other camps, enraged Palestinian have threatened further turmoil if the siege continues.
Abbas Zaki, the Palestinian Authority representative in Lebanon, said the Lebanese government had given Palestinian leaders a chance to find a way out of the standoff, hoping to avoid the possibility that the fighting could set off violence in other refugee camps. As a result, he said, he did not expect the army to storm deep into the camp.
But the leader of Hamas in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, warned that the clashes on Friday “would hinder any possible political solution” and urged the Lebanese government to allow more time to reach a settlement.
Nada Bakri reported from Tripoli, and Hassan M. Fattah from Dubai, United Arab
By NADA BAKRI and HASSAN M. FATTAH
Published: June 2, 2007
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
The New York Times
New York USA
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/02/world/middleeast/02lebanon.html
After days of relative quiet as the army maintained its presence outside the camp, Lebanese troops fought much of the day to seize positions that had been occupied by the militants, who belong to the Fatah al Islam militia, inspired by Al Qaeda.
Army artillery took aim at sniper perches on the northern and eastern edges of the camp, an army official said, striking tall buildings that sent plumes of smoke billowing from inside the camp.
The army said 16 people in the camp and two soldiers had been killed, with 60 civilians and 18 soldiers wounded. It said that it could not break down the deaths between militants and civilians but that the total number of people killed since fighting began on May 20 exceeded 100, including soldiers, militants and civilians.
A member of Fatah al Islam, speaking to Reuters, said that the group had lost some positions during the day’s fighting and that two of its members had died. The group’s fighters include Saudis, Syrians and other foreigners who are veterans of the insurgency in Iraq.
As the fighting died down late Friday night, it was not immediately clear whether the army offensive would end. Military officials would not comment on the army’s movements, and journalists were forced to move farther away from the camp, limiting their view of the operation.
An army official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the army was believed to have cornered Shaker al-Absi, the leader of the group, in one section of the camp, but that could not be confirmed.
The army’s strategy seemed to be to gradually reduce the militants’ bases and defenses outside the camp, Nahr al Bared, and force the fighters inside to concede. A camp resident said most of Fatah al Islam’s positions on the outskirts of the camp had been destroyed, along with numerous multistory apartment buildings that housed Palestinian refugees.
A military statement on Friday called for the militants to surrender and promised to continue pursuing them if they did not. It said some militants had fled the front lines to seek refuge deep inside the camp, “taking civilians as human shields.”
“The camp is being shelled from all sides, inside and on its outskirts; it is very hard to move to search for casualties because of the heavy fighting,” said a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine who identified himself as Abu Wissam.
At its peak, Naher al Barad was home to some 40,000 refugees, but the population has fallen significantly over the past two weeks as the clashes erupted. Abu Wissam said at least 8,000 refugees remained trapped inside as the fighting flared Friday.
Lebanese television reported that the army had killed and captured more than 10 militants who were seeking to flee the camp’s northern entrance, but the reports could not be independently verified.
Television reports showed Russian T-55 tanks, French-made Panhard tanks and American-built armored personnel carriers moving closer to the camp, some saddled with sandbags for protection.
Sporadic skirmishes have continued since a cease-fire took hold last week. The army has been poised to enter the camp since then, but has allowed Palestinian leaders time to try to negotiate a peaceful solution to the siege.
Palestinian leaders pleaded for calm on Friday.
Under an agreement signed 39 years ago, the army is not allowed to enter any of Lebanon’s 12 Palestinian refugee camps. A full-scale attack on the Naher al Barad camp has been widely viewed as politically fraught, with some Lebanese leaders, including Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, declaring the borders of the camp a “red line.”
In other camps, enraged Palestinian have threatened further turmoil if the siege continues.
Abbas Zaki, the Palestinian Authority representative in Lebanon, said the Lebanese government had given Palestinian leaders a chance to find a way out of the standoff, hoping to avoid the possibility that the fighting could set off violence in other refugee camps. As a result, he said, he did not expect the army to storm deep into the camp.
But the leader of Hamas in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan, warned that the clashes on Friday “would hinder any possible political solution” and urged the Lebanese government to allow more time to reach a settlement.
Nada Bakri reported from Tripoli, and Hassan M. Fattah from Dubai, United Arab
By NADA BAKRI and HASSAN M. FATTAH
Published: June 2, 2007
Copyright 2007 The New York Times Company
The New York Times
New York USA
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/02/world/middleeast/02lebanon.html
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