Aid groups are preparing to return Palestinians to the ravaged Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon, now that the fighting between the army and Sunni militant group Fatah al-Islam has ended and Lebanon declared victory. Fatah al-Islam declared unilateral ceasefire following the declaration of victory by Lebanon's Defense minister Elias Murr, but some sporadic fire continued
Tough challenges remain, aid agencies warn. Unexploded ordnance and rubble imperil the refugees' way home. Many houses are ruined and further dangers and diseases lurk in the damaged water and sewage networks, they said.
A group of Palestinian religious leaders were mediating between the army and Fatah al-Islam to end the month-long fighting, which has killed at least 164 people, including 75 soldiers, at least 59 militants and 30 civilians.| And two Red Cross workers who were escorting the mediators |
Osama Hamdan, Palestinian party Hamas's representative in Lebanon, said the army was insisting on the surrender of Fatah al-Islam leaders and there was still "no solid news of a solution".
"I can't say that there is anything evident yet, but I hope the mediators can make progress in Nahr al-Bared," he told IRIN. Hamdan is not part of the mediation team, but Hamas, one of the political movements among Lebanon's 400,000-strong Palestinian population, is working with the mediators, he said. |