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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Four killed in clashes at second camp in Lebanon |
| 2007-06-05 |
| Two Lebanese soldiers and two Islamist extremists were killed in overnight clashes near a refugee camp in the southern port city of Sidon, a military spokesman said on Monday. A ceasefire was declared, however, when Palestinian factions held emergency talks with the army command in Sidon to ease tensions. Jund Al Sham, a militant group consisting mainly of Islamist Lebanese extremists, then ceded their positions to gunmen from other Islamist groups, reported Reuters. “The army asked the Palestinian factions to seek a halt to attacks on the army, saying that if they don’t stop, it would act firmly,” said a Palestinian source. There was no demand to hand over militants, he added. Eleven other people were also wounded in the fighting near the northern entrance of Ein Al Helweh, the largest of Lebanon’s 12 refugee camps, said a military spokesman, according to AFP. The fighting had erupted as Lebanese troops continued to battle Islamist militants in another camp, Nahr Al Bared, in a 16-day standoff that has left about 100 people dead. Schools were closed in Sidon on Monday, many shops remained shut and traffic was slow in the city as the army imposed tight security measures, an AFP correspondent said. A mortar shell crashed near the municipality building in Sidon and bombardments could be heard throughout the night. The army sent in more armoured vehicles around the camp after fighting with gunmen from Jund Al Sham. The overnight clashes also wounded six Lebanese soldiers, two civilians and three fighters from Jund Al Sham, according to Lebanese and Palestinian hospital sources. Palestinian factions, who have sole control over security in Ein Al Helweh, were engaging in contacts with Lebanese authorities in order to put an end to the confrontations, local officials told AFP. Jund Al Sham is a small Sunni extremist group based in neighborhoods just outside the northern entrance of Ein Al Helweh, where Islamist groups have gained grounds in the last few years. Jund Al Sham seems to have no clear hierarchy or particular leader and is believed to have about 50 militants armed with assault-rifles, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades. Its name literally means “Soldiers of Damascus”, but refers to the ancient Islamic terming of Bilad Al Sham that includes present-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and Palestinian territories. Its members are mostly Lebanese but it also includes Palestinians, mostly dissidents of the Sunni fundamentalist group Usbat Al Ansar, which was outlawed by the Lebanese authorities in 1995 for murdering a rival cleric that year. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 At the very least, the Lebanese army is getting experience. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2007-06-05 01:05 |
| #1 Popcorn time in old cedar land. |
| Posted by: gromgoru 2007-06-05 00:44 |