Prime Minister Fouad Siniora denied on Friday that the Lebanese Army is besieging Palestinian military camps along the Syrian border, insisting there will be no military confrontation with any groups inside the country. Siniora's comment came as the army loosened its grip on Palestinian bases operated by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command and Fatah Uprising in Sultan Yacoub, Hilweh, Deir al-Ashayer and Yanta, in the southeast Bekaa Valley. Both pro-Syrian factions possess heavily armed militant units.The army had encircled the bases on Wednesday in an attempt to flush out the killers of a Lebanese contractor shot dead while on duty in Hilweh on Tuesday. The army accuses the Fatah Uprising of killing Ahmad Ismail, while the group adamantly denies the claim. "There is no military front open against the Palestinian militants in the Bekaa," Siniora said. "We don't intend to attack Palestinians or Lebanese. There is no confrontation; we are not attacking anyone."
| "I mean, somebody could get hurt!" |