Standoff with rebels continues

Beirut: A standoff continues into a fourth day on Saturday between the Lebanese military and Fatah Al Islam amid a sporadic exchange of gunfire.

Civilians continued to flee from the Nahr Al Bared camp as the army's siege of the area continued despite a UN call for the protection of civilians.

On Friday, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah warned the Lebanese government against storming the Palestinian refugee camp where Islamic militants are holed up and criticised US weapons aid to the military in the standoff.

Nasrallah warned that Lebanon risked getting dragged into the United States' war against Al Qaida, which he said would draw more Islamic militants into the country and potentially destabilise it.

"The problem in the north can be solved politically and through the judiciary in a way that protects the Lebanese army, our Palestinian brothers, the state and peace and stability without transforming Lebanon into a battleground in which we fight Al Qaida on behalf of the Americans," he said in a televised address.

Nasrallah said the Fatah Al Islam fighters who attacked the military should be brought to justice. But he said Hezbollah opposed any military incursion into the camp to crush the militants.