Lebanese army continues to pound Islamist strongholds
Saturday, 9 June 2007
NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon, Jun 8 (AFP): Lebanese tanks and artillery continued Friday to pound the strongholds of Islamists holed up inside a refugee camp, as the authorities claimed the militants wanted to target UN peacekeeping forces in the country.
The assault on the Nahr al-Bared camp, which targetted buildings occupied by the militants for the past 20 days, began around 8:00 am (0500 GMT) and was continuing at a steady pace by late morning, an AFP correspondent reported.
Militiamen from the Al-Qaeda inspired Sunni Muslim group Fatah al-Islam replied with automatic gunfire and anti-tank rockets.
They had threatened to widen attacks if the bombardment continued.
On Thursday, Fatah al-Islam spokesman Shahine Shahine told AFP: "We will widen the scope of the attacks beyond Nahr al-Bared" if the army continues its "destructive bombardment."
Reports emerged Friday that some of the militants who had been captured had told interrogators that one of their targets were elements of the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
A strengthened 12,700-member UN peacekeeping force is patrolling the Israeli border in the south under the terms of a UN-brokered truce to last summer's war between
Israel and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.
A judicial source said Friday that, "in the course of interrogations, some members of Fatah al-Islam confessed that one of the principle aims of their group was to militarily attack UNIFIL operating in south Lebanon."
The source said they had spoken of being "indoctrinated" against Christians, depicted as crusaders, as well as against Shiites and leading Sunni figures, such as MPs, ministers and senior officials, considered to be "infidels."
In their view, the source said, "Lebanon's political system, as well as anyone who participates in it, is ungodly, and it is just, from a religious point of view, to fight them."
The assault on the Nahr al-Bared camp, which targetted buildings occupied by the militants for the past 20 days, began around 8:00 am (0500 GMT) and was continuing at a steady pace by late morning, an AFP correspondent reported.
Militiamen from the Al-Qaeda inspired Sunni Muslim group Fatah al-Islam replied with automatic gunfire and anti-tank rockets.
They had threatened to widen attacks if the bombardment continued.
On Thursday, Fatah al-Islam spokesman Shahine Shahine told AFP: "We will widen the scope of the attacks beyond Nahr al-Bared" if the army continues its "destructive bombardment."
Reports emerged Friday that some of the militants who had been captured had told interrogators that one of their targets were elements of the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
A strengthened 12,700-member UN peacekeeping force is patrolling the Israeli border in the south under the terms of a UN-brokered truce to last summer's war between
Israel and the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.
A judicial source said Friday that, "in the course of interrogations, some members of Fatah al-Islam confessed that one of the principle aims of their group was to militarily attack UNIFIL operating in south Lebanon."
The source said they had spoken of being "indoctrinated" against Christians, depicted as crusaders, as well as against Shiites and leading Sunni figures, such as MPs, ministers and senior officials, considered to be "infidels."
In their view, the source said, "Lebanon's political system, as well as anyone who participates in it, is ungodly, and it is just, from a religious point of view, to fight them."