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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran | |
| Saniora, Army Reject Joint Lebanese-Palestinian Committee | |
| 2006-05-21 | |
| The government and the army command have refused to establish a joint Lebanese-Palestinian investigating committee to probe the clashes between the army and pro-Syrian Palestinian gunmen in eastern Lebanon. Prime Minister Fouad Saniora rejected an offer by Fatah al-Intifada representative in Beirut Abou Fadi Hammad to establish the committee, sources close to the premier told An Nahar. They said Saniora told Hammad that the judiciary is investigating Wednesday's clashes between army troops and guerrillas from the Damascus-backed Fatah al-Intifada led by radical militant Abu Moussa in Wadi al-Aswad about three kilometers from the Syrian border. A Lebanese soldier, Moustapha Moudlej, was wounded in the shooting and later died in hospital in the southeastern village of Jeb Janine. An Nahar said that the judiciary was able to disclose the identity of one of the Palestinian gunmen who shot at the army. It said he fled the scene along with others. A Palestinian source had earlier said that two Abu Moussa fighters were wounded in the clashes and taken to Syria for treatment. According to An Nahar, Saniora told Hammad that the perpetrators would be brought to justice. The death of Medlej has drawn widespread condemnations of the killing and given a fresh sense of urgency to the disarmament of Palestinians stationed outside refugee camps. As the military held a ceremony Friday to honor Moudlej, the army command issued a statement confirming reports that military reinforcements had been sent to bolster Fatah al Intifada's positions near the Syrian border. After news of Moudlej's death Friday, several hundred residents of the region held a protest march, charging that the fighters were "mercenaries" who served Israeli interests.
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| Posted by:Steve |