Lebanon's prime minister yesterday vowed to eradicate terrorism as sporadic gunfire rang out through the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp where Islamic militants were holed up after refusing an ultimatum to surrender.
Fighters from the al-Qaeda-inspired Fatah Islam militant group barricaded in the Palestinian refugee camp said they would fight off any Lebanese assault.
Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said in a TV address yesterday that Fatah Islam was "a terrorist organization" and blamed the group for "attempting to ride on the suffering and the struggle of the Palestinian people."
"We will work to root out and strike at terrorism, but we will embrace and protect our brothers in the camps," Saniora said, insisting Lebanon had no quarrel with the 400,000 Palestinian refugees who live in the country.
His speech came a day after Lebanese Defense Minister Elias Murr issued an ultimatum to the Fatah Islam militants -- many of whom are believed to be Arabs from other countries -- to surrender or face a military assault.
Storming the Nahr el-Bared camp -- a densely built-up town of narrow streets on the Mediterranean coast -- could mean rough urban fighting for Lebanese troops and further death and destruction for the thousands of civilians who remain inside.
It could also have grave repercussions elsewhere across troubled Lebanon, sparking unrest in the country's 11 other Palestinian refugee camps.
Although Palestinian factions have dissociated themselves from Fatah Islam, refugees in other camps, which are rife with armed groups, were seething with anger over the army bombardments that have partially destroyed Nahr el-Bared, raising concern that violence could spread.
In a sign of the danger, a bomb exploded on Wednesday night in the Aley mountain resort overlooking Beirut, a 90-minute drive south of Nahr el-Bared. The blast, which injured 16 people, was the third in the area of Beirut since Sunday.
Police said all but two of the injured had been released from hospital.
Fatah Islam has denied responsibility for the bombings, but many Lebanese fear more blasts if the siege continues.
"You are our brothers," Saniora told Palestinian refugees in his TV address. "We share with you the bad times before the good ones."
There have been eyewitness accounts of Palestinian men being briefly detained for questioning about conditions inside Nahr el-Bared and for information about Fatah Islam.
Human Rights Watch has expressed concern about the conduct of warfare, stressing the need to protect civilians in times of fighting.
"Legitimate security concerns cannot justify arbitrary arrests of any Palestinian," said Nadim Houry, from the New York-based rights group.
It was not clear what sparked the new shooting yesterday in Nahr el-Bared, as a truce appeared to be still holding since Tuesday afternoon. Half a dozen soldiers followed by an armored car and a light vehicle headed toward a forward army position at the camp's northern entrance.
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