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Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Beirut wants Paleos to settle Nahr al-Bared crisis, Trucefire™ in effect
2007-05-28
Long read but worth wading thru...
The Lebanese government deferred to Palestinians factions on Sunday in brokering a "political" solution to the standoff here between the army and Fatah al-Islam militants, although it was unclear to what extent Palestinian leaders had accepted the role. "We are waiting for the Palestinians factions to reach a final decision on how to deal with the issue of Fatah al-Islam," Youth and Sports Minister Ahmad Fatfat told The Daily Star Sunday. "The army continues to maintain security on the ground."
So they can give all those boatsful of US arms to Hezbollah, I guess.
Troops increased their already heavy presence outside the camp over the weekend, as arms shipments from the United States arrived in Beirut. The Fatah Movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Hamas and the leftist Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, among other Palestinian groups, were expected to have a hand in talks.
Gah.
Fatfat denied earlier media reports that the government had set a deadline of mid-week for a solution to be negotiated. "We have put no time restraint [on the negotiations]," he said. The PLO representative in Lebanon, Abbas Zaki, said Sunday that the group had not been approached by the Cabinet. "The Lebanese government did not ask us to find a solution, nor did it set a deadline," he said in an interview with the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation.
Certainly not!
A calm but cautious mood prevailed at the camp north of Tripoli on Sunday, with the army deployed in defensive positions in the area for the third consecutive day following the reopening of roads around the camp. An army source confirmed on Sunday that "light gunfire" had been exchanged overnight between soldiers and militants. "The army is alert to possible infiltrations by militants from the Fatah al-Islam," the army source told The Daily Star on condition of anonymity. "Several members of the group were arrested in Tripoli and within the vicinity of the camp" over the weekend, he said.

The current truce followed three days of heavy fighting at the camp, in which 33 Lebanese soldiers and an unknown number of militants were killed. Four of the dead militants were Saudi nationals, Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Abdel-Aziz Khoja told local daily Al-Hayat on Sunday. "But they have yet to be identified," he added.

As the siege of the camp continued, eight cargo planes arrived in Beirut over the weekend with US military aid. Four US planes and two planes each from the United Arab Emirates and Jordan ferried in material for soldiers in the North. Media reports said the planes carried ammunition, body armor, helmets and night-vision equipment. A camp resident who left Nahr al-Bared on Saturday afternoon said both electrical power and water had been cut off since the conflict started and that camp residents had only bread and canned goods to eat. "We have no access to news, we only have the phones and people are afraid of new weapons sent by the Americans that the army would use on them, including gas," he carefully read from a script handed to him by a guy in a turban said.

In a video statement aired on Al-Jazeera television on Saturday night, Fatah al-Islam leader Shaker Youssef al-Absi said that his group's fight was with "Jews and Americans," and not with Lebanon. He said his group was "not a threat to the security of Lebanon" and accused an unidentified "third party" of starting the hostilities - an accusation echoed over the weekend by Palestinian leaders. Absi said his fighters would not surrender but would kill those who storm the camp. "We wish to die for the sake of God ... Sunni people are the spearhead against the Zionist Americans," the militant leader said. Absi was shown seated before a black banner, as another militant holding an assault rifle stood next to him. The tape also showed militants training at an unidentified camp.

Residents of Nahr al-Bared who fled to Beddawi told The Daily Star that they had finally "put a face to the name" after watching the video of Absi. "We used to see him around the camp all the time but we didn't know who he was," said Sari Nasser in Beddawi on Sunday. "He would say 'peace be upon you' to everyone but rarely talk to anyone," said Nasser. "He kept to himself."
Posted by:Seafarious

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