Region | Lebanon

Palestinians seek to end row

Worried that violence could spill over to other Palestinian camps, Palestinian leaders try to end a bloody standoff between the Lebanese army and militants holed up in the Nahr Al Bared camp.

  • Agencies
  • Published: 00:00 May 28, 2007
  • Gulf News

  • Image Credit: AP
  • Lebanese army soldiers watch a bulldozer dig a trench at a highway near the Nahr Al Bared refugee camp in Lebanon.

Beirut: Worried that violence could spill over to other Palestinian camps, Palestinian leaders on Monday tried to end a bloody standoff between the Lebanese army and Islamist militants.

The government is giving the Palestinian factions time to end the conflict between the army and the Fatah Al Islam group, which has been holed up in the Nahr Al Bared refugee camp.

At least 78 people, including 18 civilians, have been killed in fighting between the groups, while more than half of Nahr Al Bared's residents have fled the camp.

Sporadic gunfire continued in the early hours of Monday. The army said in a statement it had opened fire when fired upon and destroyed Fatah Al Islam fortifications.

The Lebanese government is concerned that more heavy army action could trigger violence at other Palestinian camps in Lebanon, which are home to some 400,000 people.

"What is slowing down the army is the realisation that we could have a nationwide problem," said Timur Goksel, an expert on security affairs in Lebanon. "Military solution is no longer an option."

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