Fierce fighting erupted in and around a besieged Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon yesterday as Lebanese troops resumed bombardment of al-Qaeda-inspired militants holed up edinside
The troops, backed by heavy artillery and tank fire, blasted suspected hideouts of the Fatah Islam militants inside the Nahr el-Bared camp on the outskirts of the port city of Tripoli, as the battle against the militants entered its fifth week, witnesses said.
The intense bombardment sent thick black and white smoke billowing into the air and started fires in several shell-punctured buildings in the camp.
In Sunday's clashes, troops entirely destroyed the militants' main headquarters located on the edge of the camp, according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA). But the whereabouts of Fatah Islam leader Shaker Youssef al-Absi and his top aides remain unknown.
After inspecting troops deployed around the Nahr el-Bared camp, Lebanese Army commander General Michel Suleiman said on Sunday that the decision to eliminate the Fatah Islam militants was "final and irreversible."
"There is no other way out for these terrorists except to lay down their arms and surrender to justice before it is too late," Suleiman said in a statement carried by the NNA.
The fighting between Lebanese troops and Fatah Islam militants has claimed more than 150 lives -- 69 soldiers, at least 60 Fatah Islam militants and more than 20 civilians -- since its outbreak on May 20 -- the worst internal violence to engulf Lebanon since the 1975 to 1990 civil war.
A senior military official said on Sunday there was "no time limit" for the army's plan to close in on the militants, but would not comment on a report from Lebanon's leading An-Nahar newspaper that said the military was close to winning the fight.
"The army is taking field measures to put an end to this abnormal situation," the military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give official statements.
Mediation attempts by Palestinian factions and Islamic clerics to find a peaceful solution to the crisis have so far failed.
The Lebanese government insists that Fatah Islam militants surrender before the army stops its offensive.
However, the group's leaders have pledged to fight to death.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was