Middle East News
Army continues to pound Islamist militants in northern Lebanon
Jun 12, 2007, 11:39 GMT
Beirut - Lebanese army troops continued Tuesday to shell Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
Shells were falling on the northern and eastern sectors of the camp. 'Each minute around 10 to 20 shells were falling,' a witness said.
Lebanese security sources said that the army confiscated papers from the house of Shaker al-Abssi, the leader of the Fatah al-Islam militant group, on the outskirts of the camp before blowing the building up.
The security forces also arrested eight people on suspicion of belonging to an Islamist militant group in the Bekaa Valley in eastern Lebanon. They were arrested on suspicion of possessing weapons, booby-trapped cars and explosives.
Five al-Qaeda-linked suspects were arrested in the Bekaa region last week.
The shelling intensified after four Lebanese soldiers and two relief workers for the Lebanese Red Cross were killed in fierce fighting on Monday.
A Palestinian cleric trying to mediate an end to the fighting between the army and the militant group was also wounded at the Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon on Monday.
Sheikh Mohammad al-Hajj was shot in the thigh by a sniper after he entered the camp to hold talks with the militants on ways to end the 23-day-old conflict.
At least 136 people have been killed, including 63 soldiers and more than 60 militants, in three weeks of fighting which has been described as the worst internal clashes since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.
Eleven soldiers died and more than 90 were wounded in battles over the weekend.
Meanwhile, a website which publishes statements by fundamentalist groups including the al-Qaeda terror network has published a statement by a group threatening the Lebanese government if it doesn't lift the siege on the Nahr al Bared camp.
'We warn that if the Lebanese government will not lift the siege on the Nahr al Bared camp we will resort to hostage-taking, slashing of heads, hell and sniping,' said the statement from the group calling itself 'The backers of the struggle in Iraq.'
Meanwhile, Red Cross workers, along with other local and international aid agencies, continued on Tuesday to take in medical and food supplies to the camp and to help frightened civilians leave.
The spokeswoman of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Samer Kadi, told
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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Older Talkback
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Very true Bruce. Very true!
Al-Qaeda-linked Islamist militants in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon can't be rescued. If you blog or have a webpage, include the latest news directly on your page.. just search for widgetmate on google..
'Pound Islamist militants' - way to go to de-humanise the latest 'enemy' M&C! This sort of disgusting media bias is just unacceptable - we are not all robot-thinkers believe it or not!
If they are both Islamic and militants then they are Islamic Militants. This is not media bias, it is simply necessary labeling. What would you have it say, 'Some people shoot at some other people'?
MikeStPaulJun 12th, 2007 - 13:26:07
You're right mate. Call a spade a spade. These PC idiots give me the trotts.
In response to Bruce who accuses Lebanon of keeping the Palestinians in camps and not allowing them to integrate into the society while defending Israel's actions and Israeli policies, may I remind you of two facts. Yes, facts, not sentiments such as those that led you to write what you wrote. First, the Palestinians were driven to Lebanon as refugees when Israel occupied their lands and homes in 1948 and 1967, so they are not part of the Lebanese fabric and Lebanon is not the ultimate responsible entity for their plight. If anyone is, it's Israel, the Arab world, and the International Community. Second, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians remain in Israel, yet they are not allowed to integrate into Israel proper. They are 'contained' behind a wall of apartheid. The Lebanese Army is defending Lebanese soil on it's own territory, not on one it captured from someone else.
I agree wholeheartedly with Edward, couldn't have said it better myself.
RE:Edward
You missing an important fact - Palestinians volunteeraly left the land of Israel in 1948. They are refugees by their own doing. Those who stayed, are full fledged Israeli citizens who have all the same rights as the rest of the country. As for the Palestians left in Gaza, They have their own country, except they choose to use it as a terrorist incubator.
'If they are both Islamic and militants then they are Islamic Militants. This is not media bias, it is simply necessary labeling. '
The word is 'terrorists', filthy, grubby, miserable terrorists who should be wiped out like rats who carry the plague.
Don't insult plague carrying rats like that! ;^)
Poppa puff; you have your facts all messed up. Most Palestinians fled their lands in 1948 to escape slaughter by the Israelis. Does Deir Yassin tell you anything or is this another fact you want to ignore? Another wave of Palestinians fled in 1967 especially from the West Bank. All the inhabitants of the West Bank and Gaza which were annexed by Israel and is therefore by the definition of Israel, Israeli territory are not citizens of Israel and have absolutely no rights. They do not even have a single document to prove their identity or what country they belong to. The only thing they have is an Israeli ID card to identify them as inhabitants of these territories. So please, before you throw out 'facts' and specifics, make sure what you say is at least close to being accurate.
To the person who said that the Palis fled a 1947 to avoid a massacre. They were invited to be part of Israel and refused to live in peace. The grand arab army was supposed to push all the Jews into the sea. Remember that?
As far as Dar Yassin, 'I believe that most of those who were killed were among the fighters and the women and children who helped the fighters. The Arab leaders committed a big mistake.' see the wikipedia entry.
Israel has tried many times to make peace, and each time the olive branch of peace is set fire in their hands by the Arabs. They refuse any peace that leaves Israel as a state.
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BruceJun 12th, 2007 - 12:32:12
Wow, imagine if Israel were doing the shelling. The world would be in outrage. Press would be non-stop wall to wall 24 hour coverage of the 'war crimes' of Israel, and how the nice Palis were nothing but victims, of Israel's brutal regime. the BBC would have and did have specials on how horrible Israel is.
Here we have Lebanon, who has kept these people in 'camps' for more than 50 years, refusing to allow them to integrate into society. They have more restrictions than Israel ever imposed. Yet they still blame Israel.
Israel went into hostile territory with ground units to prevent the use of wide area shelling, at great risk and peril to the brave IDF solders, and they are accused of a massacre. Lebonon shells whole camps, and the world stays quiet becuase it is not the Jews trying to defend themselves.
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