NICOSIA Ñ Al Qaida insurgents have agreed to leave an embattled
Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon.
Arab diplomatic sources said members of the Usbat Ansar have reached
agreement with the ruling PLO movement Fatah that a handful of insurgents
will leave the Ein Hilwe refugee camp near Sidon. The agreement was reported
on late Wednesday after intense battles between Fatah forces and Usbat
Ansar.
The sources said under the accord about a dozen Usbat Ansar members
linked to Al Qaida will be expelled from Ein Hilwe, where they are expected
to be arrested by Lebanese authorities. The members are suspected of being
connected to the uprising against the Beirut government in 2000 in northern
Lebanon and the ambush in July outside Ein Hilwe in which three Lebanese
soldiers were killed.
On Tuesday, two people were killed and 12 injured in battles between
Usbat Ansar and Fatah combatants. The two sides used rocket-propelled
grenades and semi-automatic weapons in fighting in the Tawari neighborhood
of Ein Hilwe.
Fatah leaders in Ein Hilwe confirmed the accord. Fatah commander Munir
Maqdah announced on late Wednesday that under the agreement the Usbat Ansar
fugitives will leave Ein Hilwe but will not surrender to authorities.
Maqdah said the fugitives would be given 15 days to leave the camp. Six
of the 11 Usbat Ansar members under the expulsion order are already said to
have escaped Ein Hilwe.
Other clauses in the agreement call for the withdrawal of forces to
their former positions in Ein Hilwe. This will include an end to the Fatah
siege of the Tawari neighborhood.
Maqdah said the Usbat Ansar religious leadership has pledged to take
responsibility for its fighters and agree that they will submit to
regulations in Ein Hilwe.
