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| Middle East |
| Hamade in custody at Ein al-Hilweh |
| 2002-07-16 |
| An Islamic militant wanted for killing three Lebanese army intelligence agents was handed over to the Lebanese army, a Palestinian sources said. They said Lebanese Islamic leaders had handed the militant, Badih Hamade, to Lebanese soldiers early Tuesday at the northern entrance of Ein Helwe camp, on the outskirts of the port city of Saida. Earlier, a mediator said he struck an 11th-hour deal for the surrender of an Islamic militant wanted for killing three Lebanese army intelligence agents and holed up in this Palestinian refugee camp. These guys do an awful lot of negotiating with the government. Whatever happened to "You've got a killer in there! Send him out with his hands up!"... "Hokay! Don't shoot!" "After difficult negotiations, we have reached an agreement in principle to hand over the murderer to the concerned parties," Palestinian Islamic mediator Abu Sharif, spokesman for the group Usbat al-Ansar, told reporters. Abu Sharif said he participated in long negotiations with Sheikh Abdullah Shreidi, leader of a rival group, Usbat al-Nur, which is alleged to be hiding the wanted militant in the Ain Helwe camp of southern Lebanon. "We need some time" to organize the hand-over, he said after the talks in an Ain Helwe mosque. "We want to spare the camp from problems." Lebanese Interior Minister Elias Murr, meanwhile, warned: "There is no solution but to hand over the murderer. Otherwise, the army will gradually take harsh measures that could lead to closing all the camp's entrances." Yeah. And then that'd be the occasion for "bloody revenge," etc., etc. |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |