Fierce fighting rocks Palestinian camp in Lebanon

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Fierce fighting rocks Palestinian camp in Lebanon

By Nazih Siddiq
2 hours, 4 minutes ago

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (Reuters) - Lebanese troops pounded
al Qaeda-inspired militants dug in at a Palestinian refugee camp
in north Lebanon on Friday after the gunmen refused demands
they give themselves up.

Artillery and tanks blasted several areas of the squalid Nahr
al-Bared camp, where Fatah al-Islam fighters have shown stiff
resistance in nearly three weeks of often ferocious battles.

-snip-

Heavy machinegun fire echoed across the area as fires raged
inside and clouds of smoke billowed over the camp, abandoned
by most of its 40,000 residents.

The fierce fighting resumed after two days of mostly sporadic
clashes and came hours after Lebanese Islamists failed in a bid
to convince Fatah al-Islam militants to surrender.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070608/ts_nm/lebanon_fighting_dc

[maddezmom]

1. Lebanon army shells camp, 3 soldiers die

By Nazih Siddiq

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, June 9 (Reuters) - Lebanese troops shelled al Qaeda-inspired militants entrenched in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp on Saturday and three soldiers died in the heavy battles, security sources said.

They said 21 soldiers were also wounded in Saturday's battles in which machinegun fire reverberated and heavy artillery shelling rocked the camp's edges from early morning.

Television footage showed heavy black smoke billowing from many of the camp's buildings, some punctured by shells.

"The army is trying to control positions that the militants are using to target the army," a military source said.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L09276498.htm

[maddezmom]

2. At least 6 Lebanese Army soldiers killed battling Islamic militants

At least 6 Lebanese Army soldiers killed battling Islamic militants
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- At least six Lebanese Army soldiers died Sunday in the effort to defeat Fatah Islam militants holed up inside the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp just north of the port city of Tripoli, Lebanese Army sources told CNN.

Intermittent fighting over the weekend came after Lebanese government forces pushed deep inside the refugee camp Friday, in what Lebanese security forces said could be the final phase to defeat the group -- which is said to have ties with al Qaeda.

More than 50 soldiers have been killed in the nearly month-long battle -- considered the worst internal violence in over a decade.

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/06/10/sunday/index.html?section=cnn_latest

[Eugene]

3. (Monday) No let up in Lebanon camp battle, casualties mount

Source: Reuters

No let up in Lebanon camp battle, casualties mount
Mon Jun 11, 2007 9:13am ET

By Nazih Siddiq

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (Reuters) - Lebanese troops
bombarded a Palestinian refugee camp with artillery and
tank fire on Monday, pressing ahead with an assault to
crush al Qaeda-inspired militants dug in there.

But after 23 days of often ferocious fighting at the Nahr
al-Bared camp, the army did not appear any closer to
forcing the Fatah al-Islam group to surrender.

A cloud of smoke hung over the camp as scores of
heavy artillery rounds crashed into the camp, while tank
and heavy machinegun fire strafed suspected militant
hideouts.

-snip-

A resident at the camp said by telephone that two
civilians were killed in Monday's shelling.

-snip-

Read more: http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2007-06-11T131309Z_01_L11699048_RTRUKOC_0_US-LEBANON-FIGHTING.xml

[Eugene]

4. 2 Red Cross Workers Killed in Lebanon

Source: Associated Press

2 Red Cross Workers Killed in Lebanon

Monday June 11, 2007 4:01 PM

By ZEINA KARAM

Associated Press Writer

BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) - 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.

The workers were killed in their vehicle as they tried
to escort a Muslim scholar trying to mediate an end to
fighting between the Lebanese army and Fatah Islam
militants, out of the Nahr el-Bared camp, the
officials said.

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.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6700673,00.html

[maddezmom]

5. UNICEF estimates 20,000 children affected by conflict in camp

UNICEF estimates 20,000 children affected by conflict in camp
11 Jun 2007 16:38:38 GMT
BEDDAWI CAMP, 11 June 2007 (IRIN) - Seven-year-old Omar Mohammed Mallas may pretend the bombs and bullets that slammed into his home from the clashes outside did not scare him much, but spend a little time with the young resident of north Lebanon's besieged Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, and he quietly confesses his fears.

"I saw the tanks and heard the explosions and I told my Mum: 'Let's get out of here.' On the way I found a piece of shrapnel that I liked but I've lost it now. I'm really looking forward to going home," said Omar, sitting in the shade of a playground set up by the United Nations Children's Agency (UNICEF) in Beddawi camp, 10km from Nahr al-Bared.

According to the latest figures from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Beddawi camp is now home to just under 13,000 of nearly 30,000 Palestinians who have been displaced by the ongoing conflict between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam militants holed up in Nahr al-Bared.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/29c49e07706da6add9a18cf9c43a4c2e.htm

[Eugene]

6. (Wednesday) Two more soldiers die in fighting at Lebanon camp

Source: Reuters

Two more soldiers die in fighting at Lebanon camp
13 Jun 2007 09:48:55 GMT
Source: Reuters

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, June 13 (Reuters) - Two Lebanese
soldiers were killed in fresh battles on Wednesday between
army units and Islamist militants at a Palestinian refugee
camp, security sources said.

Al Qaeda-inspired Fatah al-Islam militants attacked Lebanese
army posts set up at newly seized territory in the outskirts
of Nahr al-Bared camp overnight and in early morning,
inflicting the casualties, the sources said.

Army units, which had seized two militant positions in heavy
fighting on Tuesday, responded by firing dozens of 155 mm
artillery rounds at the camp. Black smoke rose above the camp's
cinderblock buildings as thuds of explosions rocked the area.

The battle for the camp, Lebanon's bloodiest internal violence
since the 1975-1990 civil war, has claimed the lives of 140
people, including 62 soldiers, since it erupted on May 20.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L13728587.htm