On-the-spot: Lebanese battle militants in Tripoli
The Times Lebanon Correspondent reports from Tripoli, where Lebanese troops and Palestinian militants have been clashing in the streets
Lebanese soldiers took up positions around the streets of Tripoli as they battled the Palestinian militants
Nicholas Blanford, Tripoli
"I'm in the centre of Tripoli at a flashpoint where there have been heavy gunfights since this morning. Two or three militants from the Fatah al-Islam are holed up in a building down a narrow street, a normal residential street with five- or six-storey buildings dotted with balconies. They are holding an old lady and her daughter hostage in a first-floor apartment.
"It all seems to be coming to a climax now. There was some very heavy shooting just a while ago. The soldiers appeared to be running out of ammunition then five armoured personnel carriers full of Lebanese special forces arrived.
"They used the APCs to hide behind as they inched down the street to where the militants are holed up. Then, when they got in front of the building, they opened up with heavy machine guns, using the guns mounted on the APCs and their own M16s. They tried to force their way into the building but there was a muffled explosion. One of the Lebanese soldiers was wounded.
"At the moment there's a slight lull. They must be wondering what to do now they know there are hostages. They've surrounded the back of the building and I heard the soldiers asking for more grendades so I asume they're going to rush them. It's not clear how many civilians managed to get away. There are a father and son in the flat opposite who keep coming out and almost nonchalantly watching the action before ducking back inside when the shooting starts again. There is also quite a crowd gathered to watch in the street, including some young men who have been getting in the way of the soldiers.
"I'm not sure what's happening in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, which is about nine miles north of the city. Fatah al-Islam militants stormed the Lebanese army positions at the entrance to the camp earlier today and took them over. I can hear lots of explosions, heavy artillery or tank rounds, coming from the north so the fighting there must be continuing.
"Otherwise the streets of Tripoli are almost deserted. There's very little traffic on the coastal highway down to the south and the army has set up checkpoints around the town. There's a real sense of alarm.
"This group, Fatah al-Islam, has dominated the security news in Lebanon for about the past six months. It appears to be an offshoot of Fatah al-Intifada, a Damascus-backed Palestinian group which split from Yassir Arafat's Fatah movement back in 1983. We're not really sure on the background but the Government maintains that they are a Syrian plant, here to cause problems in Lebanon. Fatah al-Islam describes itself as a Palestinian militant group whose job it is to liberate Jerusalem but nobody really knows. It's a highly politicised situation.
"What appears to have triggered this current round of fighting off was a bank robbery in Amyoun, a coastal town to the south-east which the authorities blamed on Fatah al-Islam. The army came to arrest the militants this morning, in a building only about 100 yards from where they are now, and the whole thing blew up. It's the most serious showdown between the Lebanese and Islamic militants since 2,000, when the army fought a week-long battle with Sunni Islamists in the mountains, which left 11 soldiers dead and 30 militants. There have already been 11 soldiers killed today, so this might end up being even more serious."
