Lebanese accuse civilians of helping camp militants
The Guardian
"A senior Lebanese defence ministry source last night accused Palestinian civilians of helping Fatah al-Islam militants holed up in the Naher al-Bared refugee camp, and said it would take longer than anticipated to win the battle.
"We didn't anticipate this level of resistance," said the source. "It may take a lot longer to clear the camp. It may take a week or 10 days to end this. We didn't expect a direct combat situation of this sort.".....
Speaking by telephone from inside the camp, a PLO leader, Abu Stef, described the humanitarian situation as catastrophic. "We have had no supplies since Thursday," he said. "No food, no water, no medicine. We are all alone."......
Abu Stef also described the danger posed by the thick haze of smoke and dust that now engulfs the camp: "There are lots of fires throughout the camp, and many of us are having trouble breathing." He said the Palestinian factions inside the camp were trying to move the civilians to safer areas as the fighting spread, but some had been trapped in their buildings. A Red Crescent worker said doctors knew of at least 27 people wounded inside the camp, but that throughout Saturday night and Sunday they had only managed to get one wounded man out......
Abu Stef said such allegations were baseless. "People stayed because they didn't know it was going to get this bad," he said. "Now that they want to leave, they are not allowed to. The people who are still inside are there to protect their homes and their things. If they leave, Fatah al-Islam will take over their areas.".....
"The civilians who are still in the camp refused to leave even though the army gave them the chance to," said 31-year-old Houssam. "They should bring the camp down on their heads. They must be helping the militants." "We need a B-52 bomber," said his friend Mustafa. "We need to take out the whole camp. Just once.""
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