Lebanese infighting toll rises

Beirut: Nine civilians died on Monday as Lebanese tanks shelled Islamist militants in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, bringing the death toll to 66 after two days of the worst in-fighting Lebanon has seen since the civil war ended.

Black smoke blotted out the sun over Nahr Al Bared, a refugee camp home to some 40,000 Palestinians, as fires raged and heavy gunfire and explosions rang constantly out throughout the day.

Palestinian sources in Nahr Al Bared said the bombardment by the Lebanese army had also wounded 20 people.

A worried Dubai resident with relatives in Nahr Al Bared told Gulf News that the constant bombardment has led to his sister and brother being trapped in the camp since 4am on Sunday morning.

“The situation is very tense, and I am very afraid for them. They have had to seek alternative hiding places as the shelters are full and they are afraid to be in them,'' he said.

Syria has denied Lebanese accusations that it has links to Fatah Al Islam militants fighting troops in northern Lebanon, saying it had tried to arrest the group's leaders.

"Our forces have been after them, even through Interpol," Foreign Minister Walid Moualem said in a lecture at Damascus University. "We reject this organisation. It does not serve the Palestinian cause and it is not after liberating Palestine," Moualem said.

Also on Monday, a high-ranking Fatah Al Islam militant died during a raid in a building in the northern city of Tripoli. Saddam El Hajdib was a suspect in a failed German train bomb plot. His body was among 10 burned during a Sunday raid by Lebanese troops, an official said.