Fragile truce holds at Lebanon camp

Updated 16.14 Wed May 23 2007

Keywords: Nahr el-Bared, refugees, Palestinian, Lebanon

A fragile truce is holding between the Lebanese army and al-Qaeda-inspired militants at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Three days of fierce fighting at the Nahr El-Bared camp, which is home to 40,000 people, has left at least 22 militants, 32 soldiers and 27 civilians dead.

"The matter is not over. It will only end with the final end of this gang" - military source

Thousands of Palestinian refugees fled the camp overnight, escaping in case the truce between the army and the Fatah al-Islam group collapsed into more fighting.

Rescue workers have been unable to enter the camp near Lebanon's northern port city of Tripoli and it is not clear how many civilians may have been killed there. Residents said bodies were buried under the rubble of buildings.

A military source said there is calm but added: "The matter is not over. It will only end with the final end of this gang."

Fatah al-Islam, a Sunni Muslim militant group, had made Nahr al-Bared their base. Although the faction is led by a Palestinian, the Lebanese authorities say they have arrested Saudi, Algerian, Tunisian and Lebanese members of the group.

The government had pledged to root out Fatah al-Islam, which members of the governing coalition say is a tool of Syrian intelligence. Syria denies any link with the group.