Lebanese troops attack militants’ bases

Government troops Friday stormed positions occupied by Al Qaeda-linked militants on the outskirts of this refugee camp in northern Lebanon, in some of the fiercest fighting since the standoff began almost two weeks ago.

At least 14 people, including two soldiers, were killed in the fighting, according to security officials, who also said that Lebanese forces did not enter the Palestinian camp, and only moved against outlying paramilitary bases used by Fatah al Islam militants.

“Elite forces were able to take over a number of key posts that were used by snipers from the group on the northern and eastern outskirts of the camp,” a senior army official said on condition of anonymity.

A 1969 agreement prevents Lebanese security forces from entering the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

The fighting at the camp has claimed dozens of lives, and is Lebanon’s worst internal conflict since its 15-year civil war, which ended in 1990. Lebanon’s political climate has become so volatile that some fear the fighting could spiral out of control, spread to other Palestinian camps in the country and reverberate across the region.

Lebanese authorities say Fatah al Islam has only a few hundred fighters, many from other Arab countries. Lebanon’s Western-backed anti-Syrian government has accused Damascus of supporting the Islamist group in order to destabilize the country. Syria has denied any involvement.

Some observers also speculated that Fatah al Islam might be trying to use the country’s instability to establish a foothold and “institutionalize” Al Qaeda in Lebanon.

Beginning early Friday morning, tanks gathered around the camp and soldiers fired heavy artillery, sending plumes of smoke billowing from several buildings inside. At least a dozen militants were killed in the shelling and ensuing gun battle. It was unclear whether any civilians died in the battles.

In an official statement, the Lebanese army accused the militants of infiltrating civilian areas inside the camp and using the remaining residents as “human shields.”

The statement called on the militants to “surrender to justice” and urged “our Palestinian brothers not to provide safe haven to these criminals.”

According to U.N. agencies, about 6,000 families have left Nahr el Bared since fighting began May 20. On Friday, lines of cars, buses and pickups loaded with fruits and vegetables were backed up on the main roads leading toward the nearby Syrian border.

Palestinian officials said they believed that thousands remained trapped inside the camp.

“The situation is disastrous. We can’t leave our homes because of the heavy shelling,” said Milad Salame, a 26-year-old nurse who lives in the camp.

Salame said he decided to stay in the camp to assist the wounded and others who remained there. But he was unable to reach a medical center where he had been working with a doctor and another nurse in the last few days.

“When the situation briefly calmed down, we were able to bury some of the civilians killed,” he said.

Salame said that many buildings were destroyed by what he described as “indiscriminate and intense” shelling of the camp.

Taking advantage of an undeclared cease-fire earlier in the week, many refugees escaped to Bedawi, another Palestinian refugee camp nearby.

Observers believed the Lebanese authorities had allowed the temporary cease-fire to give Palestinian leaders a chance to try to resolve the crisis inside the camp.

On Friday, Osama Hamdan, representative of the militant Palestinian group Hamas in Lebanon, called for an end to the government offensive.

“The resumption of clashes is preventing [us] from reaching a political solution,” he told reporters after a meeting between Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora and Palestinian officials.

Other Palestinian officials said they didn’t want to negotiate with Fatah al Islam, whose members they considered intruders and representatives of an alien ideology.

“As representative of the Palestinian Authority, we did not engage in the bazaar of negotiations with this terrorist group,” said Jamal Khalil, who is based in the Bedawi camp. “We told them that they had two options: Either surrender or leave the camp.”

Khalil said that armed elements from different Palestinian factions were inside the Nahr el Bared camp to “protect civilians and prevent Fatah al Islam’s fighters from getting out of their security zones.”

Earlier in the week, a military judge indicted 20 suspects from Fatah al Islam on terrorism charges, which carry the death penalty.