Tripoli, Lebanon: Amid a sustained army offensive yesterday, seven Islamic militants have surrendered to a major Palestinian faction in a besieged refugee camp in northern Lebanon - marking the first tangible move by Palestinian factions against the militants.
But other Fatah Al Islam militants continued to fight and Lebanese troops pounded their hideouts in the Nahr Al Bared refugee camp on the fifth day of an assault aimed at crushing them. Clouds of smoke rose from the camp as artillery struck militant positions.
The seven militants surrender was the first sign that a major faction - in this case the Fatah group of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas - responded to calls by Lebanese authorities to actively campaign against the Al Qaida inspired Fatah Al Islam since fighting broke out May 20.
It coincided with by Abbas' renewed denunciation of the group and tacit backing of the Lebanese crackdown on militants in Nahr Al Bared. Fatah Al Islam has nothing to do with the Palestinians, Abbas said in a speech in the West Bank marking 40 years of Israeli occupation. He accused the militants of "abusing the camps" to carry out attacks against the Lebanese army, and "endangering the lives of Palestinians" there. The seven Fatah Islam members came over to Fatah positions in the southern parts of Nahr Al Bared, handed over their weapons and pledged to stay out of the fighting, said Fatah commander Maj. Gen. Khalid Aref.
Speaking from his base in the southern Ain Al Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, Aref said that Fatah was trying to convince Palestinian residents in the camp who previously had sided with the militants to abandon the fight because it was wreaking destruction on their homes.
The international Red Cross said yesterday it managed to send in some medical supplies to the southern part of Nahr Al Bared - the first time since the offensive began. The Red Cross evacuated 12 people, including one who was wounded and a pregnant woman, said spokeswoman Virginia de la Guardia, bringing the total number of evacuated people to 45 in the last two days.
