by Nicolas Tohme June 5 – NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (AFP) – Tensions remained high in Lebanon on Tuesday as government forces battled to crush Islamist militants around a Palestinian refugee camp and another bomb blast struck the capital. Fighters from the Al-Qaeda inspired Fatah al Islam militia responded with automatic weapons fire as the army pounded their positions overnight in the squalid Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon, correspondents said.
A Red Cross convoy of ambulances and trucks loaded with medicine waited to enter the camp during a lull to supply the refugees left in Nahr al-Bared, estimated to number between 3,000 and 5,000 of its original 31,000 inhabitants. However, several fighters from the Sunni Muslim gang have turned themselves in, the mainstream Palestinian faction Fatah said. "They surrendered on Monday and Tuesday to Fatah men in the Nahr al-Bared camp," said Fatah’s number two in Lebanon, Khaled al-Aref. "We can confirm that men from Fatah al-Islam turned themselves in and handed over their weapons."
There was no immediate confirmation from the Arab militant group and a Lebanese army spokesman, too, could not confirm the surrenders."We have information that there were some elements which gave themselves up, but the army has not received any of them," he told AFP.
BEIRUT (AP)
By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI, Associated Press Writer, Jun 4, EIN EL-HILWEH CAMP, Lebanon – Islamic militants clashed with Lebanese troops at the country’s biggest Palestinian refugee camp Monday, threatening to open a southern battle front that could complicate the army’s effort to defeat al-Qaida-inspired extremists in the north. Two government soldiers and a militant were reported killed in fighting at the Ein el-Hilweh camp in the southern city of Sidon, which began when the Jund al-Sham group attacked army outposts late Sunday.
TRIPOLI, June 2nd Lebanon – A missile-firing helicopter joined the Lebanese army offensive against al-Qaida-inspired militants on Saturday, the second day of a push against Islamic fighters vowing a fight to the death inside a Palestinian refugee camp. Army tanks shelled militant hideouts in the Nahr el-Bared camp by this northern port city, blasting upper floors of buildings where the militants placed snipers. A Lebanese air force helicopter fired two missiles and strafed militant positions in the first use of airpower since fighting began with the Fatah Islam group on May 20. The air attack was an apparent attempt to block an escape route to the Mediterranean Sea.Four soldiers were killed and 10 wounded Saturday in the offensive aimed at uprooting al-Qaida-inspired gunmen barricaded in the refugee camp.
By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer, TRIPOLI, Lebanon June 1 – 2007- Under the cover of artillery barrages, dozens of Lebanese army tanks and armored carriers moved toward a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon Friday in pursuit of Islamic militants holed up inside. The artillery bombardment sent white clouds rising above the Nahr el-Bared camp, where Fatah Islam militants have been hanging on in a 13-day siege by the Lebanese army. The shelling also ignited fires in the camp that spewed black smoke. The militants have barricaded themselves in residential neighborhoods of narrow, winding streets and apartment buildings.
Beirut
BEIRUT daily – star : President Emile Lahoud said Tuesday that he would step down as president in a matter of months and suggested the formation of a six-minister "national salvation government" to carry the country out of its prolonged political deadlock. Lahoud spoke after a lunch meeting with Maronite Patriarch Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir in Bkirki. In a meeting between the leaders described afterward by both as positive, talks centered on the narrowing window of opportunity for the country’s two main political camps to come together ahead of presidential elections scheduled for late September.
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s parliament speaker said on Thursday the UN security council had ignored the country’s constitution in voting to set up a tribunal for suspects in the killing of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri said the Security Council had also ignored a need for Lebanese consensus on the court, which the Council on Wednesday voted to set up in a move forecast to cause more instability in Lebanon.
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The UN Security Council on Wednesday voted to set up an international court to try suspects in the murder of Lebanese ex-premier Rafiq Hariri, whose death rocked his country two years ago. The legally binding resolution, which was narrowly approved, sets June 10 as the date on which a 2006 agreement between the UN and the Beirut government to establish the court enters into force.
