Lebanese troops battled al-Qaeda-linked militants in northern Lebanon on Sunday and at least 11 people were killed, seven of them soldiers, security sources said.
They said the fighting broke out between the Lebanese army and members of the Fatah al-Islam militant group after security forces raided homes in Tripoli to arrest suspects accused of robbing a bank in the city a day earlier.
Three soldiers were killed in the clashes at the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp. The militants also attacked an army patrol in the Koura region of northern Lebanon, killing four soldiers, a senior security official said.
Four Fatah al-Islam fighters had been killed in the camp, which is home to 40 000 Palestinian refugees and near Tripoli.
The army had tightened its grip around Nahr al-Bared camp since authorities charged Fatah al-Islam members with twin bus bombings in a Christian area near Beirut in February. Three civilians were killed by the bombs.
The Lebanese government has accused Fatah al-Islam, a Palestinian-led group that broke away from the Syrian-backed Fatah al-Intifada last year, of being linked to the Syrian government. Syria denied the charge.
Cabinet Minister Ahmad Fatfat, speaking in Tripoli, linked the violence to what he said were efforts to derail United Nations moves to set up an international tribunal for suspects in the 2005 assassination of former prime minister Rafik al-Hariri.
A UN probe has implicated Syria and Lebanese officials in the Hariri killing. Damascus denies any involvement.
”There is someone trying to create security chaos to say to world public opinion: ‘Look, if the tribunal is established, there will be security trouble in Lebanon’,” Fatfat told Lebanon’s pro-government Future TV.
The United States, France and Britain last week circulated a draft UN resolution that would unilaterally set up the court.
Army sends in reinforcements
The rattle of assault rifles and machine guns could be heard, and thuds from explosions rocked the Nahr al-Bared area after the fighting broke out before dawn. Residents were trapped indoors and movement in the camp was dangerous.
The army sent in reinforcements to the outskirts of camp.
An army statement said Fatah al-Islam had attacked army posts around the camp and in northern Tripoli. The army is not allowed into the camp under a 38-year-old agreement with the Palestinian leadership.
Security forces also clashed with gunmen in Tripoli itself while trying to arrest Fatah al-Islam members suspected of robbing a bank on Saturday, officials said. Four members of the security forces were wounded in the clashes in Lebanon’s third largest city, security sources said.
Fatah al-Islam statements have appeared on Islamist websites known to publish al-Qaeda statements. The group was formed last year by fighters who broke off from the pro-Syrian Fatah Uprising group. — Reuters