Palestinian Civilians Flee Lebanon Refugee Camp
Move comes in anticipation of final assault by Lebanese army after almost two months of fighting.
The last remaining Palestinian civilians in a militant-held refugee camp in north Lebanon fled today in anticipation of a final assault by the Lebanese army.
Witnesses said the army was bringing heavy reinforcements to the Nahr al-Bared camp, near the northern port city of Tripoli, where troops have been battling Fatah al-Islam fighters for almost two months.
More than 200 people have died in Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war. The latest victim, a Lebanese soldier, was killed by sniper fire from inside the camp yesterday.
The army seized all militant positions on the outskirts of Nahr al-Bared last month, but refrained from entering its official boundaries.
A 1969 Arab agreement bars Lebanese security forces from entering Palestinian camps. The agreement was annulled by the Lebanese parliament in the mid 80s, but the army has effectively stuck by it.
Lebanese security officials said the army had decided to crush the last remaining militants after they rejected repeated calls to surrender. Extra troops have been deployed, with helicopter gunships and naval boats expected to be used in any assault on the coastal encampment.
Three ambulances belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent society entered the besieged camp today to evacuate civilians still trapped inside.
Local representatives of the Palestinian mainstream Fatah group and other factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization, who have called on militants to surrender, were also leaving.
Most of Nahr al-Bared's 40,000 inhabitants fled during the early days of the fighting, but a few thousands stayed behind.
The Lebanese government claims Fatah al-Islam is a tool of Syrian intelligence, a charge denied by both Damascus and Fatah al-Islam.
The group - some of whose members have fought in Iraq - says it has no organizational ties with al-Qaida but supports its ideology. The authorities have blamed it for the twin bus bombings that killed three civilians in a Christian area near Beirut in February.
Investigators also accused militants of the assassination of an anti-Syrian Christian government minister last November.
Witnesses said the army was bringing heavy reinforcements to the Nahr al-Bared camp, near the northern port city of Tripoli, where troops have been battling Fatah al-Islam fighters for almost two months.
More than 200 people have died in Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war. The latest victim, a Lebanese soldier, was killed by sniper fire from inside the camp yesterday.
The army seized all militant positions on the outskirts of Nahr al-Bared last month, but refrained from entering its official boundaries.
A 1969 Arab agreement bars Lebanese security forces from entering Palestinian camps. The agreement was annulled by the Lebanese parliament in the mid 80s, but the army has effectively stuck by it.
Lebanese security officials said the army had decided to crush the last remaining militants after they rejected repeated calls to surrender. Extra troops have been deployed, with helicopter gunships and naval boats expected to be used in any assault on the coastal encampment.
Three ambulances belonging to the Palestinian Red Crescent society entered the besieged camp today to evacuate civilians still trapped inside.
Local representatives of the Palestinian mainstream Fatah group and other factions of the Palestine Liberation Organization, who have called on militants to surrender, were also leaving.
Most of Nahr al-Bared's 40,000 inhabitants fled during the early days of the fighting, but a few thousands stayed behind.
The Lebanese government claims Fatah al-Islam is a tool of Syrian intelligence, a charge denied by both Damascus and Fatah al-Islam.
The group - some of whose members have fought in Iraq - says it has no organizational ties with al-Qaida but supports its ideology. The authorities have blamed it for the twin bus bombings that killed three civilians in a Christian area near Beirut in February.
Investigators also accused militants of the assassination of an anti-Syrian Christian government minister last November.
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