Islamic militants, security forces battle in Lebanon

Source: CNN

TRIPOLI, Lebanon (AP) -- Lebanese tanks pounded shells at a militant group's headquarters in a Palestinian refugee camp next to the northern city of Tripoli on Sunday afternoon after hours of clashes that left 13 soldiers and several militants dead, along with dozens of wounded.

Security officials said 19 soldiers and 14 police officers were injured in the fighting, the worst violence to hit the northern city in two decades, and hundreds of Lebanese citizens could be seen applauding as the army shot into the refugee camp.

A spokesman for the Fatah Islam group, Abu Salim, said two militants were killed and five wounded inside the Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp. "Many houses have been destroyed," he told The Associated Press by phone from inside the camp.

A senior security official said a high-ranking member of the Fatah Islam militant group, known as Abu Yazan, was among those killed. Security officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/20/lebanon.violence.ap/index.html

---

I guess these "refugee camps" aren't the sort of thing I envision when hearing the phrase. I picture people in refugee camps being somewhat helpless and displaced - in need of food and assistance. Shelling them to the applause of a crowd sounds like a horror story.

This is exactly what many want the Lebanese Army to do and firmly believe it is long, long overdue. Not saying I agree. I don't. But I can't ignore widespread sentiment that the Palestinians NEED shelling in Lebanon, and have needed it for some time.

...Security forces clashed with gunmen in Tripoli itself while trying to arrest Fatah al-Islam members holed up in a building in the predominantly Sunni Muslim city, which is Lebanon's second largest. Smoke rose from a building in the city.

Fatah al-Islam was formed last year by fighters who broke off from the Syria-backed Fatah Uprising group
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070520/wl_nm/lebanon_camp_fighting_dc

The militant group is an offshoot of the pro-Syrian Fatah Uprising, which broke from the mainstream Palestinian Fatah movement in the early 1980s and has headquarters in Syria.

..... The sudden explosion of violence was linked by the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority to efforts to create an international tribunal to try killers of former Premier Rafik Hariri, who was assassinated in a 2005 suicide truck bombing in Beirut. Syria opposes the tribunal.

The U.N. Security Council is considering a draft resolution to impose the court after Lebanon's government and the pro-Syrian opposition failed to agree on approving it in Beirut.

The anti-Syrian majority coalition says Syria was using its allies in Lebanon to undermine approval of the court.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070520/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_violence

Palestinian officials have expressed mounting concern about Fatah-al-Islam, which says it is training young Palestinians in Nahr al-Bared to fight "the Jews in Palestine."


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070520/ts_afp/lebanonpalestinian



bottom line is this;
Syria doen't want to have "their day in court".

btw,on another side note, does anybody know
besides Lebanon, how many Arab countries house large Palestinian refugee camps on the order of tens of thousands?



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe8fGt5M3SI&mode=related&search=



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe8fGt5M3SI&mode=related&search=

Is the US supposed to oppose this because even though it's against an Islamic militant front, it somehow indirectly helps Syria?...

Isn't that kinda backwards? That's just my opinion, but I think it's backwards. I don't see why I should give a rat's posterior about Syria cheering this on.

by friends of criminals.
The Lebanese police chased them and the "alleged robbers" fled into this refugee camp. The Lebanese govt and police obviously do not have jurisdiction in an area that has 'islamic militant political parties' with direct links to Syria. This all actually points a finger at the way Syria ran the country over the years.


...
The clashes in the camp began early morning shortly after police raided a militant-occupied apartment on Mitein Street, a major thoroughfare in Tripoli. Authorities said police were looking for suspects in a bank robbery a day earlier in Amyoun, a town southeast of Tripoli, in which gunmen made off with $125,000 (€92,750) in cash.

The armed militants resisted arrest and a gun battle ensued. It spread to surrounding streets and continued through the afternoon.

Witnesses said the militants then seized Lebanese army positions at the entrance to the refugee camp, capturing two armored carriers. The gunmen also opened fire on roads leading to the city and ambushed a military unit, killing two soldiers, security officials said.


...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/05/20/lebanon.violence.ap/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

Syria cut their funding when they left Lebanon but the structure that relied on the financial assistance of Syria remained in place...to govern themselves..and impose rules on those around them

The Syrian government is part of that crowd they created. It's all going to come back to haunt them

So Syria wouldn't be cheering the shelling of these same militants and the refugee camps they're sheltering in, right?

If that's just a simple mix-up, no big deal at all - it would pale compared to the problems the Lebanese are having today.

Syria isn't going to be backing some "al Qaeda linked" group, al Qaeda hates the Syrian government, & vice versa. There is more than some bank robbery at issue here. The "militants", whoever they are, gave an extremely good account of themselves against a supposed professional military force. I don't know what's going on, but they are not playing patty-cake.

At this point I'll just wait for the dust to clear some and try to figure this out after.

the Syrian influence withered out of Lebanon, so did the financial aid these fiefdoms received.

I'm saying this isn't just a gang of bank robbers. And it still leaves the question why catching a group of bank robbers is called a "security raid".

ran the streets.
LOL
Capone came to Cleveland and Elliot Ness chased him out !
A near west side bar still bares the bullet holes from that 'eviction' night.

Lebanon needs a few Elliot Ness types.
They had Harriri a few years ago but....people with Syrian connections rubbed him out.

They are thugs and gansters.
God and/or allah is just their PR stunt for the dupe followers with no life.

Hariri == Elliot Ness, Cleveland == Lebanon, and this Fatah al Islam is Al Capone's Mafia. I know the Lebanese military fits in there somewheres too, the IRS maybe.

and it's all comming back to haunt them.
They are getting caught with their pants down as the whole self defense mechanisms they perfected are being tripped by the Lebanese ( not IDF )security forces.

Syria isn't cheering anything. If they could, I bet they wish they could hide under some rock if the lid remains off so the shit can hit the fan.

I'm choking on all this fog of war so I'll try and make sense of it in the future. After all, the present isn't really the point - it's where the heck it all leads from here. On its own this is a very minor skirmish.

Yes, I don't give a ratz azz about such a distant place but, it does have an impact in Europe, just on the other side of Turkey.

hey
The French who possessed a vital interest in the area at one time will monitor it with more interest then we will..
They still feel close to the ex colony of theirs so I would guess the Lebanese MSM will be getting more hits in the comming weeks.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/default.asp

At least the Lebanese Daily Star has an English version

Lebanon and Syria were the same country until France, England and the Imperialist powers divided it up, and they remain virtually the same people.

Or are we supposed to hate Syria because of Israel? That is what your third post is about.

It's not like they held rallies of over a million people to drive them out, or completely voted in a new non-pro-Syria government.

You would think fucking Syria controls the world with all of its "terrorism," its threatening everything human beings hold precious, its "constant . . . control" of neighboring countries, its being part of the "Axis of Evil," that evil dentist they have running their country, etc., etc., etc.

Hey Lebanon !

get out of....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Blp73lJmL0s&mode=related&search=

Is somebody is on the verge of turning the tide ?


Lebanon army battles militants in north, 21 killed

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070520/wl_nm/lebanon_camp_fighting_dc

Lebanon troops battle Islamic militants

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070520/ap_on_re_mi_ea/lebanon_violence

19 dead as Lebanese troops battle Islamist gunmen

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070520/ts_afp/lebanonpalestinian





on a side note, I wonder how these stories play out in France ? ;)

BEIRUT, May 20 (KUNA) -- The Lebanese army said clashes were still underway in northern Lebanon with the Fatah Al-Islam fighters, with the casualty count still rising on both sides.
In a first official statement, the Army said Sunday its checkpoints around the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr Al-Bared near Tripoli were assaulted shortly after a security raid started against one of the buildings in the city.

Army vehicles transporting troops and material were later ambushed near the Qalamoun area in the north as well leaving more casualties on the army side, the army statement said. "The army is now giving chase to the gunmen and gradually restoring law and order to the city and its suburbs," the statement said.

In a related development, several Lebanese officials condemned the attacks by Fatah Al-Islam against the army describing them as criminal and undermining the country's domestic stability.
Lebanese President Emile Lahoud strongly condemned the attacks and called on regular law and order forces to face up to them no matter what group they belonged to and "prevent them from undermining the security and stability of the north." Lahoud, in a statement issued by his office, paid tribute to the law and order forces for their courageous resistance to the group. He wished the injured quick recovery.

For his part, Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Al-Siniora also condemned the attacks describing them as an "attempt to undermine the security of Lebanon and the Lebanese by a misled group hiding behind Islam, while the Muslim faith has nothing to do with it." The prime minister accused the group of using nationalist slogans to mislead the public and called on the Lebanese people to "wake up to the grave schemes being plotted against them." He called on all the Lebanese to stand as one behind Lebanese law and order forces, specifically the army and Internal Security Forces, "who are facing up to this criminal conspiracy." Al-Siniora said the army has, once again, shown its reliability and ability to preserve national security.

http://www.kuna.net.kw/NewsAgenciesPublicSite/ArticleDetails.aspx?id=1746193&Language=en

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, May 20 (Reuters) - Lebanese troops battled al Qaeda-linked militants based in a Palestinian refugee camp on Sunday and 38 people were killed in Lebanon's bloodiest internal fighting since the 1975-90 civil war.

Thirteen soldiers and 19 militants died in the clashes, which erupted before dawn at the Nahr al-Bared camp and spread into the nearby Sunni Muslim city of Tripoli in north Lebanon.

A cabinet minister said the fighting with Fatah al-Islam, which the government says is backed by Syria, seemed timed to try to derail U.N. moves to set up an international court to try those suspected of carrying out political killings in Lebanon.

The soldiers were killed at Nahr al-Bared just north of Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city, and in an attack on an army patrol in al-Qalamoun to the south, a security source said.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20237458.htm

Then these "al Qaeda linked militants" counterattacked(!) against the Lebanese Army. And they have since been partying on with each other. And all the political stooges and talking heads are spinning it as support for their side. It is interesting that all of the Lebanese political honchos seem to publicly support the Army's actions. It is also interesting that the fundy nuts seem to be giving a good account of themselves, so far.

throwing a bone at the MSM by adding an "oh by the way...the robbers know some guy in the al Queda woman haters club" and it makes for better press.

SO how soon till the French peacekeepers in southern Lebanon get shot at because of this $125k bank robbery?

it will sell papers

The Lebanese Army called it a "security raid". The al Qaeda allegation comes from Lebanese politicians. What do you want me to do about it? How did the UN peacekeepers get dragged into this?

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (Reuters) - Lebanese troops battled Islamist militants based in a Palestinian refugee camp on Sunday and 48 people were killed in Lebanon's bloodiest internal fighting since the 1975-90 civil war.

---

They said 15 militants were killed when troops stormed buildings they had occupied in Tripoli and four in the camp, home to 40,000 refugees. Medical sources in the camp said six civilians, including two children, were killed and 60 wounded.

The army was blasting militant positions in the camp with tank, mortar and machinegun fire, a military source said. More than 20 soldiers were wounded overall, the source added.

---

The army had tightened its grip around Nahr al-Bared after four Fatah al-Islam members, all Syrian nationals, were charged with planting bombs on two buses in a Christian area near Beirut in February. Three civilians were killed in those attacks.

http://ca.today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?rpc=401&type=topNews&storyID=2007-05-20T163249Z_01_L20250509_RTRIDST_0_NEWS-LEBANON-CAMP-FIGHTING-COL.XML

Source: Reuters

Lebanon army fights militants, blast hits Beirut
20 May 2007 21:50:13 GMT
Source: Reuters

(Adds Beirut bomb paragraphs 4-5, updates toll from clashes)

By Nazih Siddiq

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, May 20 (Reuters) - Lebanese troops
battled Islamist militants based in a Palestinian refugee camp
on Sunday and 50 people were killed in the clashes, Lebanon's
bloodiest internal fighting since the 1975-90 civil war.

Twenty-five soldiers and 15 militants died in the clashes which
erupted before dawn at Nahr al-Bared camp and the nearby Sunni
Muslim city of Tripoli, in north Lebanon.

A cabinet minister said the fighting with Fatah al-Islam, which the
government says is backed by Syria, seemed timed to try to derail
U.N. moves to set up an international court to try those suspected
of carrying out political killings in Lebanon.

In Beirut, an explosion under a car parked by a shopping mall in the
mainly Christian east of the capital killed a woman, a security source
said. Witnesses said six people were also wounded by broken glass.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L20237458.htm

Reply to wrong post. Oops.

Lebanese army shells militants in Palestinian camp

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, May 21 (Reuters) - Lebanese troops fought Islamist militants around a Palestinian refugee camp on Monday, a day after 57 people were killed in battles there and in the nearby northern city of Tripoli, security sources said.

Tank shells crashed into the coastal camp, home to some 40,000 refugees, raising plumes of smoke, as fighters of the little-known Fatah al-Islam group fired grenades and machineguns at army posts on the camp perimeter, witnesses said.

Palestinian sources in the camp said the shelling had killed two civilians. At least 27 soldiers, 15 militants and 15 civilians died in Sunday's violence, the worst internal fighting since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

Lebanese Red Cross ambulances evacuated 20 wounded from the camp overnight, following an appeal for humanitarian access from the International Committee of the Red Cross.

more:http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L21433517.htm

Source: Reuters

Lebanese army battles militants, 8 civilians dead
21 May 2007 09:36:57 GMT
Source: Reuters

(Raises civilian death toll)

By Yara Bayoumy

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, May 21 (Reuters) - Lebanese tanks
shelled Islamist militants in a Palestinian refugee camp on Monday
and at least eight civilians were killed, raising the death toll in two
days of fighting to 65, security sources said.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L21433517.htm

---

Original story: CIVILIAN DEATH TOLL FROM LEBANESE ARMY SHELLING OF PALESTINIAN CAMP UP TO 8 ON MONDAY-PALESTINIAN SOURCES

Source: Reuters

U.S. says Lebanon justified in attacks on camp
Mon May 21, 2007 12:30PM EDT

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States voiced concern on Monday
over fighting in Lebanon but said the country's security forces were
justified in their attacks against Islamist militants in a Palestinian refugee
camp.

The White House urged all sides to take a "step back" from the violence
and said it was worried over civilian casualties.

-snip-

The U.S. State Department said Lebanon's security forces were "rightfully"
acting to enforce law and order.

"It would appear that the Lebanese security forces are working in a
legitimate manner to provide a secure, stable environment for the Lebanese
people in the wake of provocations and attacks by violent extremists,"
State Department spokesman Sean McCormack told reporters.

-snip-

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/topNews/idUSN2132639320070521

Sy Hersch wrote it up a few months ago. Here is a link to the post I made in the General Discussion thread.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x932914

Makes you wonder if Lebanon has been instructed to get rid of the witnesses so that no one can question them. It would be very embarassing if Bush-Cheney were revealed to have funded Al Qaeada within the last year and now we are searching for 3 of our soldiers kidnapped by Al Qaeda in Iraq.

If so, that means that the blood of lots of innocent Palestinians is on the hands of Bush and his minions in the Lebanese gov't (who want their US $$$) in order to cover up administration crimes. Not the first time this has happened.