A Lebanese army officer said Wednesday the military was now in full control of the new part of Nahr al-Bared where the terrorists were dug in. "All of the buildings in the new part of Nahr al-Bared where the terrorists were dug in have been taken, and one could say fighting has stopped in this area," an army officer told reporters.Lebanese troops earlier on Wednesday were clearing out the remaining pockets of resistance in Nahr al-Bared, Future TV said. It said the armyÂ’s artillery continued shelling the southern front, cornering diehard militants in what has been known as the "old camp," a small segment on the southern tip of Nahr al-Bared. The army has reported that many criminals on Lebanon's most wanted lists are helping the terrorists.
The Lebanese army has been making steady gains on the ground, further squeezing Fatah al-Islam militants in a small portion of the battered Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared as mediators on Wednesday reportedly hinted at a possible cease-fire deal with the militants. But the army is insisting that regardless of any cease fire agreement the Fatah al-Islam terrorists have to surrender to the army. This decision according to army is "final and irreversible". Prime Minister Fouad Siniora promised the militants a fair trial.
Two Lebanese soldiers became the latest victims of the battle around Nahr el-Bared near the northern city of Tripoli that began on May 20. As the fighting with Fatah al-Islam continued on Wednesday, mediators hinted at a possible cease-fire deal with the militants that included the disarmament of the al-Qaida-inspired militants. According to a Palestinian Muslim cleric who has been acting as mediator, the deal would include a cease-fire, to be followed by the militants' disarmament. The cleric, Sheik Mohammed Haj, told The Associated Press news agency he had a "very positive" meeting with Fatah al-Islam leaders inside the camp but would not give details before a scheduled meeting with the army command on Wednesday. He earlier told the official National News Agency (NNA) that the militants agreed to conditions of his Palestinian Scholars Association. The cleric did not offer more details, but the private New TV station said the conditions also include return of refugees, takeover of the camp by other Palestinian factions and Fatah al-Islam's dissolution.
Meanwhile, Abu Imad Rifai, a representative of the Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad, told Al-Manar television that the progress was made after Fatah al-Islam "opened the doors for a solution" and accepted to "dissolve."
National News Agency said three Lebanese helicopters fired 12 rockets at suspected Fatah al-Islam positions in the camp late Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Lebanon's top military magistrate Rashid Mezher issued formal arrest warrants for nine suspected militants who were detained earlier this month in east Lebanon's Bekaa Valley town of Bar Elias, NNA reported. The agency did not say to which group the nine belonged but said they comprise six Lebanese, two Syrians and a Saudi.
The battle to drive the terrorists out has led to significant damage to parts of the camp, once home to some 31,000 Palestinian refugees. Only about 5,000 remain inside, after most residents fled to the nearby Beddawi refugee camp. An amateur video obtained by Associated Press Television News on Tuesday showed major destruction in largely deserted residential neighborhoods. Debris from collapsed walls and balconies littered the narrow alleys, covered with ripped electricity wires. Shells and shrapnel holes peppered some buildings. A burnt car and a parked pickup truck with a collapsed wall resting on it lay on one deserted street.