Lebanon's army warned yesterday it would "respond forcefully" should Islamists holed up in a refugee camp in northern Lebanon launch attacks, after a fierce firefight broke out overnight.
The army, bolstered by shipments of US military aid, said however that for now it would adhere to a truce which the Fatah al-Islam fighters declared unilaterally on Tuesday after three days of clashes with troops that left 78 people dead.
Fresh fighting broke out on Thursday night between the guerrillas, who are entrenched in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared near the city of Tripoli, and Lebanese troops besieging them.
"Last night, they tried to attack an army position, but the army responded and they suffered losses," an army official who did not wish to be identified said.
"The situation is calm today. The army is respecting the truce, but will respond forcefully and decisively if attacked," he said.
Neither side has reported casualties in Thursday night's firefight, which lasted about 15 minutes, and witnesses said tension at the camp had eased again yesterday.
A Western diplomatic source in Beirut said yesterday that US air force planes have started delivering military equipment and ammunition to the Lebanese army.
"Eight US air force cargo planes have started arriving in Lebanon to deliver military equipment and ammunition to the Lebanese army," said the source, who did not wish to be identified.
"This shipment has previously been ordered by the Lebanese army, but it has now been accelerated" because of the current urgent needs of the troops, the source said, declining to elaborate further.
The An Nahar newspaper said that a first US plane had arrived late on Thursday from Kuwait, with two more expected from Egypt.
The remainder would be coming from other Arab States where the US maintains depots, it said.
The US provided US$40 million in military aid to Lebanon last year and already this year has supplied hardware worth US$5 million.
Lebanon's leaders have vowed to crush the Islamists, and have given the guerrillas an ultimatum to surrender or face further artillery bombardments and machine gun fire.
Thousands of refugees have fled Nahr al-Bared, which is marked by shrapnel-scarred houses, rubble-strewn streets and burnt out hulks of cars, and are crowded into makeshift housing in northern Lebanon.
Jakob Kellenberger of the International Committee of the Red Cross said about half of the residents had fled since the fighting broke out last Sunday, and that "we are extremely concerned about the security of some 20,000 civilians who remain inside the camp."
The army has claimed that Fatah al-Islam is deliberately endangering the lives of Palestinian civilians.
"The Fatah al-Islam gang is using Palestinian civilians as human shields, firing on humanitarian convoys and has even confiscated ambulances," it said in a statement. "The army is keen to protect the lives of innocent civilians and has facilitated the evacuation of the wounded through the Lebanese Red Cross and the Palestinian Red Cross."
Aid agencies and volunteers are battling to help the displaced who have taken shelter in Tripoli or poured into Beddawi, another crowded camp nearby.
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