July 12, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 26, 1428

NAHR AL BARED (Lebanon), July 11: Scores of Palestinians fled a besieged refugee camp in northern Lebanon on Wednesday, ahead of a possible army assault to crush Islamist fighters holed up inside the shantytown.

About 400 refugees had been trapped in dire conditions inside the camp, left in ruins by the more than seven-week-long showdown between the Lebanese army and the Al Qaeda-inspired Fatah Al Islam.

About 150 Palestinian militants were among the evacuees, but were not connected with Fatah Al Islam militiamen who had been battling the army since May 20, a Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) source said.

Another Palestinian official said the evacuation from the Nahr Al Bared camp would “allow the Lebanese army to operate more freely and without putting civilians at risk”.

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) spokeswoman Virginia de la Guardia said more than 50 civilians were at an army checkpoint waiting to come out of the camp.

Army trucks were later seen taking away the Palestinian militants for questioning, an AFP correspondent said.

The PLO source said no more militants were left inside the camp apart from those of Fatah Al Islam.

Beirut newspapers have been reporting for the past few days that the army is on the verge of making a final assault against the dozens of fighters still entrenched in Nahr Al Bared.

Wednesday’s evacuation was the first large-scale operation in three weeks from the seafront camp near the port city of Tripoli.

Relief workers have been unable to deliver supplies into the camp since June 20, forcing remaining residents to scavenge for food and water in abandoned houses.

Seven refugees walked out on Wednesday while the rest gathered at the army checkpoint where they were being questioned by the military at the southern entrance of Nahr Al Bared, as cars and ambulances waited outside.

Activists have said many Palestinians, mostly men, have stayed put in the camp fearing detention by the army because they are wanted for minor crimes or lack official papers, or due to disability, sickness or old age.

According to testimony gathered by rights activists, beatings and insults figure prominently in army detentions, as the Lebanese security services try to garner more information on Fatah Al Islam.

“We have been collecting the names of people who want to get out,” by mobile phone contact with residents, de la Guardia said of the ICRC.

“We are planning to evacuate about 60 people today,” she said, adding that the ICRC hoped more would leave later this week.

The army, which ousted the group's fighters from the northern part of the camp last month, said it had tightened the noose on the militants.

But late on Tuesday, a Lebanese soldier was killed by sniper fire from inside the camp. That brought the overall death toll to at least 174, including 86 soldiers and at least 68 Islamists, since fighting broke out more than seven weeks ago.—AFP