UN-Truth

Since early Friday morning, the Lebanese Army has been pounding Nahr Al-Bared camp for Palestinian refugees in northern Lebanon. This is the heaviest artillery bombardment yet in the camp.

The heavy Lebanese Army shelling of Nahr Al-Bared during the first three days of the crisis was called “indiscriminate”.  Today’s action breaks a ten-day lull, that was supposed to leave way for “negotiations”.

By Friday evening, Associated Press reported that the Lebanese Army had broken through and had entered the perimeter zones of the refugee camp: “Lebanese tanks and armored vehicles battled their way into the outer neighborhoods of a Palestinian refugee camp Friday in some of the heaviest fighting since violence broke out between the military and al-Qaida-inspired militants nearly two weeks ago”…
See full breaking news report here.

On Friday evening in Lebanon, the Lebanese Army called on those fighting within the camp “to surrender to justice, and asserts its determination to continue to track them down until this is achieved”. In a statement, the army called on “our Palestinian brothers not to provide safe haven to these criminals, and expel them from among the innocent civilians,” it said. It also stated that “There were many casualties among their [the militants'] ranks, and some of them have fled while others have hidden among civilians [in the camp] in order to use them as human shields”.

Al-Jazeera says there are at least 8,000 Palestinian civilians still trapped in the camp — many elderly or disabled — who are unable to flee. Al-Jazeera also reports that Palestinian refugees in Lebanon see this as a larger move against their presence in that country. CNN says there may be 10,000 civilians trapped.

News reports say that the Lebanese Army claimed that their moves on Friday are in response to an attack on one of their positions this morning by Fatah Al-Islam.

However, journalists say there was a significant build-up in the Lebanese Army positions and equipment on Thursday, and that an Army commander visited the positions on Thursday evening.

“Negotiations” or “mediation” by other Palestinian groupings (mostly trying to please and appease the Lebanese authorities) has reportedly made no progress after 13 days of crisis. The Palestinian “negotiators” asked for more time, but the Lebanese have lost their patience — actually, they lost it a long time ago.

Some 35 Lebanese Army troops have now been killed since the seige of Nahr Al-Bared began 13 days ago. Reports say that Fatah Al-Islam has lost at least 60 men in the fighting so far. And an unknown number of civilians have been lost.

Journalists have been pushed back even farther away from the camp on Friday.

And the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) issued an appeal Friday afternoon to the combattants to spare civilians: “Following the resumption of heavy fighting this morning in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared, near Tripoli in northern Lebanon, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) calls on all parties involved to spare civilians not taking a direct part in the hostilities and to refrain from attacking civilian infrastructure. According to local Red Cross and Red Crescent sources, thousands of civilians remain in the camp. Medical personnel and humanitarian workers must be allowed to carry out their tasks and must, especially, have unimpeded access to the wounded. Medical personnel, vehicles and facilities may not be subjected to attack. The Palestine Red Crescent Society and the Lebanese Red Cross are ready to assist the wounded with the ICRC’s help. Ambulances and medical supplies have been positioned on the outskirts of the camp“…

News agencies have reported that four Lebanese navy patrol boats were spotted in the Mediterranean waters off the coast just outside the beseiged camp.

Filed under: Lebanon