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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Palestinian Refugees Reportedly Join Iraqi Insurgency |
| 2005-11-17 |
| Beirut, 17 Nov. (AKI) - Palestinians from refugee camps in Lebanon, as well as some Lebanese nationals are infiltrating Iraq to join the ranks of pro al-Qaeda groups fighting against the Iraqi government and its US-led military backers, a Lebanese newspaper alleged on Thursday. The Beirut-based Daily Star published an interview with a spokesman from Esbat al-Ansar (League of Followers) which the newspaper describes as an armed group following the "Salafist approach of al-Qaeda". "A group of very well trained mujahadeen from Esbat al-Ansar managed to get to Iraq and carried out several attacks against the Crusaders' forces and did very well," the spokesman, Abu Sharif, a resident of the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, was quoted as saying. Sharif said that two of the group's "martyrs", Ahmad Yassin and Saleh Shayeb, both Palestinians, were killed in Iraq last week while another two, Palestinian Nidal Mustafa and Mohammad al-Kurdi, a Lebanese national, were killed on Tuesday. "Our only comfort in the martyrs is that they killed and wounded the enemies of God," the Daily Star quoted Mustafa's father as saying. The man was not identified by name in the report. Sharif said that the "duty" of devout Muslims is to help any Muslim country that is invaded "by enemies of our religion" who desecrate Islam's holy scriptures "by tearing them and stamping on them". "For all those reasons, a group of mujahadeen form the Esbat al-Ansar group went to wage jihad in Iraq after they were unable to do so in Palestine," Sharif was quoted as saying. The spokesman refused to say how many of the group's members have left Lebanon for Iraq, nor did he provide any details on how they got there. While there have been several reports in the Lebanese media of people leaving the country to fight in Iraq, some analysts dispute that this is being organised by Palestinian groups. "It is not true that Esbat al-Ansar is an armed group of Salafist tendencies close to the al-Qaeda network, like many in the media claim," says Zouhair Hawari, an expert in extremist Islamic groups in Lebanon at the Lebanese University in Beirut. "Instead Esbat al-Ansar is a group formed in recent years by Syria's secret service agents based in Lebanon and its members are Lebanese nationals from Dinniye, a northern Lebanese town near the city of Tripoli. They have nothing to do with the Ain al-Hilwe refugee camp," Hawari told Adnkronos International (AKI). "Often, they are trained, equipped with weapons, disguised as "Salafists" and ordered to provoke chaos in the refugee camps as well as undertake missions abroad," Hawari explained. Still, reports of an involvement by Palestinian refugees in the violence in Iraq, are set to further complicate the issue of their status in Lebanon. According to UN figures Palestinian refugees in Lebanon number 394,532, or an estimated 10 per cent of the total population. Considered foreigners, Palestinian refugees are prohibited by law from working in more than 70 trades and professions. This has led to a very high rate of unemployment amongst the refugee population, with the camps seen as a hotbed of extremism and lawlessness. |
| Posted by:Steve |
#7 That's insane. And medieval. Is one of those trades usury? The Palestinians really are surrogate Jews. The Lebanese, by and large, are shit upon by the Syrians; the Palestinian refugees there are shit upon, at least as far as having a normal life with a productive job and the like, are shit upon by both Syria and Lebanon. All the groups are told that "as soon as Israel 'goes away' you can have a normal life back!" The ones who believe it can become pro-syrian hard boyz and have an outlet for their beliefs. The ones who don't believe it... well, there's no organized militia for _them_ to join, and they remember that what Syria does to its enemies is a lot worse than what Israel does to theirs, so they keep their mouth shut and wound up stuck in the camps with no prospects but being manual labor. And have yet another generation, who may be more likely to believe the Syrians. |
| Posted by: Abdominal Snowman 2005-11-17 19:36 |
| #6 The Palestinians really are surrogate Jews. Mitch H, exactly what is it that you are implying? |
| Posted by: Scott R 2005-11-17 18:28 |
| #5 No...old Abu is big pussy. He'd rather send boys to do what he doesn't have the cajones to do. I guess allan has given him higher orders cuz he is more important. |
| Posted by: Bob Woodward 2005-11-17 15:16 |
| #4 Considered foreigners, Palestinian refugees are prohibited by law from working in more than 70 trades and professions. That's insane. And medieval. Is one of those trades usury? The Palestinians really are surrogate Jews. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2005-11-17 14:31 |
| #3 Lebanon is probably just glad to get rid of them. |
| Posted by: Penguin 2005-11-17 14:27 |
| #2 "It is not true that Esbat al-Ansar is an armed group of Salafist tendencies close to the al-Qaeda network, like many in the media claim," says Zouhair Hawari, an expert in extremist Islamic groups in Lebanon at the Lebanese University in Beirut. "Instead Esbat al-Ansar is a group formed in recent years by Syria's secret service agents based in Lebanon and its members are Lebanese nationals from Dinniye, a northern Lebanese town near the city of Tripoli. They have nothing to do with the Ain al-Hilwe refugee camp," Hawari told Adnkronos International (AKI). Syria again! |
| Posted by: Crush Snemp5188 2005-11-17 14:14 |
| #1 So when are you saddling up, Abu? Or is martyrdom for the "little people"? |
| Posted by: tu3031 2005-11-17 13:46 |