After Three Months Of Intense Fighting, The Ordeal Is Finally Over.
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9/3/2007
The Lebanese army finished off the Fatah al-Islam legend. They killed its leader Shaker al-Abssi as well as 37 other terrorists and rounded up 20 on the 106th day of the confrontation at the northern refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared. Army Commander Michel Suleiman hailed the army's 'crushing victory' in seizing control of the refugee camp from the Islamist extremists as a move which scored victory over terrorism and which could cement unity in Lebanon.XXXREP
Lebanese troops finally seized control on Sunday of the Nahr Bared Palestinian refugee camp from Fatah Islam militants. Thousands of people converged on Nahr Bared after news broke in the late afternoon that the army had overrun the camp, as troops fired celebratory volleys into the air and flashed the 'V' for victory sign. Following a siege of more than three months, Nahr al-Bared fell to a mass assault after troops killed at least 37 Islamist militants making a desperate pre-dawn attempt to break the siege. An army source told AFP that the head of Fatah al-Islam, Shaker al-Abssi, was among the dead and that his wife identified his body at a hospital in Tripoli. Abssi's daughter also identified the body of Fatah al-Islam spokesman Abu Salim Taha. Another 15 Fatah al-Islam fighters were captured, some of whom managed to reach nearby villages before being caught in the manhunt as troops searched roofs and nearby fields.A security source added that nine wounded militants were evacuated by the army after they were found in underground shelters in the ruined camp. The army said the final assault on Nahr al-Bared began at about 3:30 am after the militants attempted to break out on three fronts, including by sea, but most were killed or captured. In their pre-dawn breakout attempt the militants also had help from outside. A Mercedes car pulled up at an army checkpoint on the eastern edge of the camp and began firing at soldiers as fighters launched an attack from inside. Militants attacked another checkpoint at the same time. A source said three people in the Mercedes were killed. The white vehicle was later seen being towed away. The army cordoned off the area and closed the nearby road linking Tripoli to Syria. Nahr al-Bared was home to some 31,000 Palestinian refugees, most of whom fled in the early days of the standoff and have since been housed at the nearby camp at Beddawi. The army urged the refugees not to seek to return to Nahr al-Bared until they received the all clear. More than 220 people, including 158 Lebanese troops, were killed during the standoff, which started on May 20 near the sprawling camp outside the northern city of Tripoli. Three soldiers died in Sunday's fighting. |
