Warning: Undefined array key "rbname" in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 14
Hello !

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Army Continues Crackdown in Tripoli, Akkar amid Raids near al-Beddawi

2014-11-04

The Lebanese army continues trying to rid the country of internal threats before they have to face the threats coming from the other side of the border. [AnNahar] The army on Sunday conducted a major crackdown in the vicinity of the al-Beddawi Paleostinian refugee camp near Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... and in other areas in the North. Military units "carried out a major crackdown around the al-Beddawi camp in search of gunnies and runaways, while raids were made in several suspicious locations," the army said in a statement. Army forces "staged patrols and erected checkpoints and surveillance points in all these areas," the statement added. The army said its steps are part of the "continued security measures in the neighborhoods of the city of Tripoli and the Akkar region." Earlier, the army detained in a raid in the town of Bhannine in the Akkar district two men involved in the recent festivities in the area and confiscated a rocket propelled grenade and military equipment. The army command said in a communique issued late on Saturday that a "military unit carried out raids on several suspicious areas in (the northern district of) Minieh and Bhannine and tossed in the clink Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please! Toufic Mohammed Akkoush and Mohammed Ahmed Akkoush, who were involved in the shooting at soldiers in the town of Bhannine." The statement added that a Lebanese national and two Syrians were also detained, without revealing their identities. "An RPG and a quantity of military equipment were seized near the town's technical school," the army continued. The suspects along with the confiscated weapons were referred to the competent judicial authority, the statement said. Gunmen led by Islamist holy warrior Sheikh Khaled Hoblos, a previously unknown holy man, engaged in deadly festivities with the army last weekend in the town of Bhannine. The festivities in Bhannine and al-Mhammara coincided with unprecedented fighting between the army and Islamist forces of Evil in Tripoli's old souks and Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Palestinian Dead, 3 Hurt as Residents Clash with Army in Nahr al-Bared

2012-06-16

[An Nahar] A Paleostinian was killed and three others were maimed on Friday when the Lebanese army opened fire during a spat at the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Leb, a Paleostinian source told Agence La Belle France Presse. The violence erupted after the army set to sit in solemn silence in a dull, dark dock, in a pestilential prison with a life-long lock You have the right to remain silent... two Paleostinian men who were on a cycle of violence and refused to stop at a checkpoint, the source said. State-run National News Agency said the motorcyclist had no identification papers. It later identified him as Mohammed M. The arrest prompted hundreds of the camp's residents to block roads with burning tires and hurl stones at army troops, the source told AFP. Meanwhile, ...back at the ranch, Butch and the Kid finally brought their horses under control... LBC television reported that residents in the al-Beddawi camp, also in northern Leb, "blocked roads with burning tires to protest what happened at the Nahr al-Bared camp."

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Beddawi Doors Closed to Fatah al-Islam

2011-08-17

[An Nahar] Paleostinian factions have taken precautionary measures to prevent the infiltration of Fatah al-Islam A Syrian-incubated al-Qaeda work-alike that they think can be turned off if no longer needed to keep the Leb pot stirred. turbans, who beat feet from Roumieh prison over the weekend, into Paleostinian camps in the north, the factions said in a statement. They announced that joint security forces launched patrols at the Beddawi camp and closed all entrances to the shantytown. The forces also took strong measures to control movements at the main gates and raised the level of alert to preserve the security and stability of the camp, the statement said. It stressed the keenness of Paleostinian factions on the best of ties with Leb and on coordination with the involved security authorities in arresting the runaways. The factions are also keen on keeping the camps clear of local and foreign disputes, the statement added. Five prisoners, including Fatah al-Islam terrorists, beat feet Roumieh prison Saturday by scaling down the building's walls with bed sheets before mixing with visiting relatives and walking out of the compound with them. The army announced late Saturday that it tossed in the calaboose one runaway in the northern port city of Tripoli.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Fatah al-Islam plans terrorist attacks against Lebanon

2009-09-22

Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai reported on Tuesday that the Fatah al-Islam militant group is trying to infiltrate several Palestinian refugee camps, especially the Beddawi camp in North Lebanon and the al-Bourj al-Shamali camp in South Lebanon, in an attempt to form small cells capable of launching terrorist attacks against Palestinian and Lebanese officials as well as UNIFIL. “A man identified as Fadi Ibrahim has recently been discovered in the Ain al-Hilweh camp to be working with both Jund al-Sham and Fatah al-Islam to form terrorist cells,” a source said. The daily added that the Fatah Movement led by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is coordinating with the Lebanese Armed Forces to gather information on Fatah al-Islam members and launch an awareness campaign inside the camps, so that residents will report any suspicious individuals.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

150 Fighters from Jibril' PFLP-GC Smuggled to Beddawi, Naameh

2009-01-26

About 150 fighters from Ahmed Jibril's Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command have reportedly been smuggled to the northern refugee camp of Beddawi and the coastal town of Naameh south of Beirut. The daily Al Balad on Sunday said the PFLP-GC -- which has bases in barren terrains in east Lebanon's towns of Qossaya, Hilweh, Sultan Yaqoub, and Deir el-Ghazal -- had smuggled around 150 fighters to Beddawi camp and a tunnel in Naameh. The newspaper, citing a security report, said the fighters were smuggled via the northern town of Talbira in the Akkar province. It reported "unusual" PLFP-GC activity, including setting up rocket launchers, anti-aircraft guns and planting anti-personnel mines and anti-vehicle mines around its bases, in addition to sending more trained fighters to back-up its forces in the region.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Palestinians on strike in north Lebanon camp

2007-12-12

Palestinians went on strike in north Lebanon on Tuesday in protest at the slow pace of efforts to restore living conditions in a bombed-out refugee camp, Palestinian officials said. Shops and schools in Beddawi camp, outside the port city of Tripoli, shut down in solidarity with refugees of nearby Nahr al-Bared where a deadly 15-week battle between Lebanese troops and Islamist terrorists ended on Sept. 2. They were protesting at the "inaction" of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, and of the Beirut government toward Nahr al-Bared refugees who have been returning to the bombed-out camp. Palestinian factions called the strike to demand "decent housing and a school for those who have returned to their camp, for the rehabilitation of infrastructure and buildings, and the clearing of rubble." UNRWA official Hoda Turk told reporters that the agency was providing "temporary services" for the returning refugees, as Nahr al-Bared's reconstruction would take "about three to four years" and need to be carried in phases. Palestinian refugees have staged several protest actions since the end of fighting to demand the return of those displaced to Nahr al-Bared and with decent living conditions. Many of the displaced were evacuated to Beddawi. UNRWA official Hoda Turk told reporters that the agency was providing "temporary services" for the returning refugees, as Nahr al-Bared's reconstruction would take "about three to four years" and need to be carried in phases. Nearly three months after fierce fighting between the army and Fatah al-Islam destroyed much of Nahr al-Bared, less than 8,000 out of the shantytown's 31,000 residents have returned home. The Lebanese government has also told the refugees that it will take 3 to 4 years to rebuild the camp and asked them to be patient since the whole camp was destroyed as a result of the attack by Fatah al-Islam terrorists.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Lebanon arrests another Fatah al-Islam militant

2007-10-03

The Lebanese army on Tuesday arrested Fatah al-Islam militant Adnan Najjar in a massive search for fugitives in north Lebanon’s Beddawi camp. Yesterday also two key militants were arrested: Fatah al-Islam Operations Chief Nasser Ismail and his assistant Khaled Shaaban. They were both found in an apartment inside the Beddawi Palestinian refugee camp. The Lebanese army is carrying out intensive searches in the region for fugitive militants, including Fatah Al Islam leader Shaker Al Absi, whose fate remains unknown.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Islamist uprising leader captured - report

2007-10-01

THE military commander of Fatah al-Islam, which led a 15-week uprising against the Lebanese army this summer, has been captured in a northern refugee camp, a camp official said today. "Nasser Ismail was captured by a (Palestinian) security force in the camp of Beddawi," Abu Ali Fares, a spokesman for Palestinian factions in the refugee camp said. "The force raided the house of a relative of Nasser Ismail and found him hiding in the attic with another person," Mr Fares said. "He was taken aboard a Red Crescent ambulance during the night of Sunday to Monday. He was handed over to the (Lebanese) army intelligence services." Beddawi camp is where many of the civilians driven from their homes in the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp further north by the fighting between Fatah al-Islam and the army were given emergency shelter. Ismail's wife remains in Beddawi, where, as in Lebanon's other camps, security is left to the Palestinian factions by longstanding convention, Mr Fares said. Khalil Dib, an official of the Palestinian faction Fatah al-Intifada, said that Ismail told him while in the custody of the Palestinian forces that he had been in Nahr al-Bared until Saturday before heading to Beddawi. Since Nahr al-Bared fell on September 2, the Lebanese army has been combing the whole area for fugitive militants, including Fatah al-Islam leader Shaker al-Abssi. Dib said that according to Ismail, "Shaker al-Abssi left Nahr al-Bared one month before the end of the battle" on September 2. More than 400 people died in the fighting between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam, including at least 222 Islamists. One more soldier died last Friday, raising the army's losses to 168.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Donors offer $20 mln for Palestinian camp refugees

2007-09-11

Oh lord. BEIRUT - International donors pledged about $20 million on Monday to help Palestinian refugees made homeless by a 15-week battle between the Lebanese army and Islamist militants holed up inside their refugee camp. The Nahr Al Bared camp was home to about 40,000 before fighting erupted on May 20 but is now largely destroyed. Prime Minister Fouad Siniora called a donors’ conference to seek funds to reconstruct the camp in north Lebanon. I'll provide the salt, and Deacon Blues will provide a horse that will pull the plow. The amount pledged fell well short of estimates of what was needed to cover the costs of adequate relief for the refugees, the reconstruction of the camp and help for nearby municipalities. The government estimated the total required at $382.5 million. How about this: they're not 'refugees' any more! Their grandparents might (maybe) have been, their parents definitely not, and there's no way these people are refugees. They don't get a camp. They don't get a tent. They get a bus ticket to somewhere else. They can scratch out a living in some other gawdforsaken place without the UNRWA. And preferably without guns. But if you have to rebuild the camp, put it in Mauritania. The Lebanese have suffered enough. The United States led pledges with $10 million. What? My tax dollars are going into this? Germany offered 4 million euros ($5.52 million), Norway 10 million crowns ($1.81 million) and Italy about 2 million euros. Most other countries refrained from setting specific amounts. Saudi Arabia had pledged $12 million during the fighting and the United Arab Emirates pledged $5 million. But that's ammo money for the widows. UNRWA, the UN agency which cares for Palestinian refugees, said it needed $55 million ‘to fund the first year of rehabilitation and emergency assistance to refugees from the Nahr Al Bared refugee camp’. I'm tellin' ya, salt is cheaper. Hoda Elturk, UNRWA spokeswoman, said: ‘We are very happy with the response of the donors and we are expecting more pledges to come.’ "These pledges will keep the bureauocracy fully funded!" she added. The government’s estimate includes UNRWA’s $55 million request, $249 million for rebuilding the camp and $78.5 million for the nearby municipalities and compensation for those affected in the surrounding areas. Most of the refugees fled to the nearby Beddawi camp in the early days of the fighting and are not expected to return to Nahr Al Bared soon. Most of its buildings are in ruins and the camp is littered with landmines.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

People flee Lebanon camp ahead of expected final assault

2007-07-13

Up to 150 people from the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon fled on 11 July, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Witnesses said the army was preparing a final assault on the Fatah al-Islam militants holed up inside. Between 140 and 150 people, mostly men with weapons and a military bearing, had left the camp during a lull in fighting early in the day. Dr Abdel Aziz said fewer than a dozen of today's evacuees had arrived in Beddawi, with the remainder taken by the army to one of its nearby bases. ICRC spokeswoman Virginia de la Guardia said between 140 and 150 people, mostly men, had left the camp during a lull in fighting early in the day. By afternoon, the army had resumed heavy bombardment of positions suspected to be held by the al-Qaeda-inspired Islamist militants. Dr Abdel Aziz of the Safad hospital in Beddawi camp, 10km from Nahr al-Bared and home to most of those displaced by the conflict, said fewer than a dozen of today's evacuees had arrived in Beddawi, with the remainder taken by the army to one of its nearby bases. Abu Imad, of the Palestinian Popular Committee, spoke to IRIN from inside the Nahr al-Bared today. He estimated as many as 1,500 people still remained in the camp, many of them women and children. Previous estimates had put the number of civilians remaining at 400. There are no official figures of the numbers remaining. "There are people leaving now, as yesterday the army hit five underground shelters. No civilians were killed but they are worried the army is going to destroy the whole camp now," said Abu Imad.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

Lebanon army keeps up pressure until militants surrender

2007-06-08

Al Qaeda-inspired militants and Lebanese troops fought intermittently at a Palestinian refugee camp on Thursday as the army tried to force the gunmen out of their hide-outs. Heavy fighting continued overnight with soldiers using helicopters, artillery and machinegun fire to attack Fatah al-Islam's positions in the coastal Nahr al-Bared camp. Security sources said three soldiers were wounded by a militant RPG in the overnight fighting. One soldier was also killed by sniper fire, according to the most recent reports from the camp. At least 114 people, including 47 soldiers, have been killed since the fighting erupted on May 20, making it Lebanon's deadliest internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war. The army and the government say Fatah al-Islam started the conflict and insist its men give themselves up, a demand the militants have rejected. "The army is continuing to put pressure on the militants. They are surrounded and there is no option for them but to surrender," a military source said. The authorities charged five more members of Fatah al-Islam with terrorism on Wednesday, bringing to 27 the total indicted, judicial sources said. The charges carry the death penalty. The violence is the latest jolt to stability in Lebanon, already in the midst of a 6-month-old political crisis. Four bombs have exploded in the Beirut area, killing one person and wounding dozens, since the Nahr al-Bared fighting began. In Ein al-Helweh, Lebanon's largest refugee camp, some residents said they feared more violence after clashes earlier this week between the army and the militant Jund al-Sham group. A 40-member force made up of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group and three Islamist factions has deployed at the camp's northern entrance, where two soldiers and two militants were killed in firefights that erupted on Sunday. "I am not comfortable with the force deployment because it cannot repel Jund al-Sham. If it was able to, it would have exterminated them in the first place," said Nabil al-Jammal, a vegetable seller in the squalid camp in south Lebanon. "The schools are empty because people are still worried something might happen." Palestinian factions, including Fatah and the Islamist Hamas group, oppose Fatah al-Islam, which shares al Qaeda's ideology of global jihad and recruits fighters from other Arab countries. They are also hostile to Jund al-Sham, a small group which is based in Ein al-Helweh and has links to Fatah al-Islam. About 27,000 of Nahr al-Bared's 40,000 residents have fled, many to the nearby Beddawi camp. UNRWA, the agency that cares for Palestinian refugees, has appealed for $12.7 million to meet their urgent needs. A brilliant 1969 agreement prevents the army from entering Lebanon's 12 camps, home to about half its 400,000 Palestinian refugees.

Link

Syria-Lebanon-Iran

UNRWA seeks urgent relief funds for Nahr Al Bared refugee camp

2007-06-05

UN Works and Relief Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) launched Monday a Flash Appeal for USD 12.7 million to address urgent needs of thousands of Palestinian refugees displaced by the fighting in and around Nahr Al Bared camp in North Lebanon. According to a UNRWA statement, more than 27,000 Palestinian refugees have so far fled their homes in Nahr Al Bared, most taking refuge in the nearby Beddawi camp. The money, said the statement, will be spent on delivering assistance to the displaced over the coming 90 days. It includes plans for food assistance, non food items and shelter, both immediately in order to relieve the congestion of Beddawi camp and in the short term to ensure suitable temporary shelters and provide minimum and dignified living standards to those in distress. UNRWA figures indicate that the population of Beddawi camp has swollen from 16,000 persons to around 37,000, jeopardizing the lives of inhabitants and stretching the already over-crowded living conditions. The Commissioner General of UNRWA, Karen AbuZayd, said that the situation in the camps was already extremely difficult and now it has deteriorated even further. "This fighting has placed refugees on the front line and I am very concerned about the precarious situation in which they find themselves. Life in Beddawi Camp has become unbearable and I appeal to donors to help us take immediate action," she stressed.

Link

Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$T in /data/rantburg.com/www/rantburg/pgrecentorg.php on line 132
-12 More