Almotamar.net Google - The fighting between the Lebanese troops and militants around a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon entered the second day on Monday, after the violence on the previous day left at least 48 people dead, Arabia TV reported.
The report also quoted military official as saying that the soldiers have tightened their grip around the Nahr el-Bared camp in the northern city of Tripoli and were shelling positions of the Fatah al-Islam faction at the entrances of the camp.
There is no immediate report on the latest casualties.
Some 30,000 displaced Palestinians live at the camp, and under a 38-year-old deal, Lebanese police and soldiers do not enter Palestinian refugee camps.
But according to unconfirmed report from well-informed sources, Prime Minister Fouad Senior is currently negotiating a break of the rule and seek to get into the camp to wipe out the Islamic militants.
Arabia TV reported on Sunday night that a total of 48 people, including 23 soldiers, 15 militants from the radical Palestinian faction of Fatah al-Islam and 10 civilians, had been killed during the Sunday's fighting. The army officer also confirmed the army's death toll to Xinhua.
The fighting started at dawn on Sunday after security forces raided homes in the refugee camp to arrest suspects in a bank robbery happened one day ago during which four masked gunmen robbed a bank in the northern town of Amioun and made off with 125, 000 U.S. dollars in cash.
Militants from the faction Fatah al-Islam then attacked army posts at the refugee camp, where they are based.
The Nahr el-Bared camp has been under scrutiny since two bus bombings in a Christian area in northern of Beirut in February. Police had arrested a number of members of the Islamic faction based in the camp in connection with the twin bus bombings, which killed and wounded at least 20 people.
Source: Xinhua