Beirut claims victory over Fatah Al Islam

Beirut has declared that military action going on in Nahr Al-Bared refugee camp has ended. Minister of Defence of Lebanon Elias Murr said that the Lebanese army had destroyed all positions of Fatah Al Islam in the camp.

He said, “What is happening now is some clean-up… and dismantling some mines.” At least 75 soldiers and 60 Fatah al-Islam members, 20 civilians, are understood to have been dead in the fighting which stretched into 2^nd month.

 

It was the most bloody internal conflict in Lebanon in the last 17 years since the end of civil war. At the same time it has recognized, that fighting might rise again as some members of Fatah the Islam are still in territory of camp.

 

The Lebanese army began operations in May against Fatah al-Islam in the wake of an attack on soldiers in Tripoli. Fighting soon moved to the Nahr al-Bared camp, home to at least 30,000 Palestinian refugees.

 

Thousands of civilians in the camp fled amid fierce fighting between the army and Fatah al-Islam members entrenched in the camp.

 

Murr said the camp would remain under a state of siege until remaining Fatah al-Islam fighters surrender.