Lebanon declares victory against Fatah al-Islam

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have declared victory against the Fatah al-Islam group of Al-Qaeda-inspired militants in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon, ending a bloody three-month battle.

The confrontation was the worst period of internal violence in Lebanon since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war and was a stern test for the ill-equipped and overstretched LAF.

The LAF announced that 163 soldiers and 222 militants were killed in the fighting, with another 400 to 500 soldiers wounded, many of them permanently disabled. However, the defeat of Fatah al-Islam has boosted the profile of the LAF, which for years have played a subordinate role in domestic military affairs to the powerful militant Shia Hizbullah organisation.

The climax to the battle came before dawn on 2 September 2007 when the last few dozen surviving militants attempted to break through the LAF cordon surrounding the camp and make their escape. Separate units attacked LAF positions at the southern, eastern and northern edges of the coastal refugee camp, while several others attempted to flee by swimming out to sea. The LAF said that five soldiers were killed along with 38 militants in the ensuing engagement. Another 24 militants were captured, but at least 10 escaped into the hills to the east. The LAF and Internal Security Forces (ISF) mounted a dragnet to round up the survivors, setting up road blocks and checkpoints along the coastal highway stretching to Beirut.

Shaker al-Absi, the leader of Fatah al-Islam, was among those killed in the final clashes. The camp, which was home to some 40,000 mainly Palestinian refugees, is heavily damaged after three months of fighting. The Lebanese government has promised to rebuild Nahr al-Bared, but it will be placed under Lebanese jurisdiction to prevent any resurgence of Fatah al-Islam. The 12 official Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon fall outside the jurisdiction of the Lebanese state and some have become safe havens for criminals and Islamist militants. 326 of 986 words