Lebanese troops and militants in bloody clashes at refugee camp

Published on Wednesday 13 June 2007 00:06

HEAVY fighting raged yesterday between Lebanese troops and al-Qaeda-inspired militants at a Palestinian refugee camp, the battleground for Lebanon's bloodiest internal violence since the civil war.

Heavy shelling continued, especially at the northern entrance of the Nahr al-Bared camp, while fires raged and smoke billowed from the camp's cinderblock buildings. The militants retaliated by firing rockets at army posts on a nearby hill.

A military source said the army took control of a key position of Fatah al-Islam on the camp's coastal side. The army has suffered heavy losses, especially by sniper attacks from the militants' hideouts.

"Army units widened their control over areas in Nahr al-Bared and worked on controlling and capturing new positions of the gunmen, forcing them to flee," an army statement said. "The army command repeats its call on the gunmen ... to lay down their weapons and to surrender so that justice can run its course."

At least 136 people, including 60 soldiers, have been killed since the battles started on 20 May, the worst since the 1975-90 civil war. Eleven soldiers died and more than 100 were wounded in battles at the weekend alone. Security sources said five soldiers were wounded in yesterday's battles.

Lebanese authorities have demanded the unconditional surrender of the gunmen, who have vowed to fight to the death.

Fatah al-Islam was officially formed late last year. Its leader, veteran Palestinian guerrilla Shaker al-Abssi, says he shares the same ideology as al-Qaeda but has no organisational links with that group.

Many of his men are foreign Arab fighters, some of whom have fought in Iraq.

Relief workers have been struggling to evacuate civilians still trapped inside the camp. Two Lebanese Red Cross volunteers were killed on Monday.