Middle East News
Palestinian refugees demonstrate in northern Lebanon
Dec 11, 2007, 18:12 GMT
Beirut - Palestinians went on strike in northern Lebanon Tuesday to protest the delay in efforts to reconstruct the devasated Nahr al-Bared camp, Palestinian sources said.
Shops and schools in Beddawi camp, outside the port city of Tripoli, closed down in solidarity with refugees of nearby Nahr al- Bared where a 15-week battle pitted Lebanese troops and Islamists from Fatah al-Islam. The clashes ended on September 2.
The protest was aimed at criticizing the attitude of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and the Beirut government toward Nahr al-Bared refugees returning to the camp.
Palestinian factions called the strike to demand housing and a school for those who have returned. Only 8,000 of the 40,000 Nahr al Bared residents who sought refuge in Beddawi camp have returned.
UNRWA officials announced 'temporary services' for the returning refugees, as Nahr al-Bared's reconstruction would take 'about three to four years' and need to be carried in phases.
In September, Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora appealed for almost 400 million dollars in international aid to rebuild Nahr al- Bared. Many European country pledged help.
On Friday, German Charge d'Affaires in Lebanon Hansjoerg Haber, along with the director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon Richard Cook, will inaugurate two prefabricated schools in the camp funded by the German government.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-AgenturCOMMENT
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