LOC14:04
11:04 GMT
By Omar Halabi BEIRUT, May 28 (KUNA) -- Lebanese Army troops encircling the northern shanty town of Nahr Al-Bared traded sporadic gunfire with Palestinian militants entrenched in the squalor camp on Monday, official security sources said.
At least one soldier was wounded in the gunfire exchanges between the regulars and gunmen of the faction, Fatah Al-Islam.
The gunmen, over the past hours, repeatedly sneaked toward the foritified positions of the army in the vicinity of the camp and targeted the positions with sniper fire.
The sources said the Lebanese gunners were targeting positions of the gunmen in the camp with caution to avoid hurting civilians.
According to the UN relief agency, UNRWA, up to 5,000 Palestinian refugees have remained in the camp since clashes erupted between the two sides a week ago.
Sources said chiefs of Palestinian factions tried in vain to reach a consensus on how to take action against this ragtag group, believed to have roots in some regional fundamentalist quarters.
At least 30 Lebanese soldiers and 60 gunmen have been killed since the fighting broke out around the camp, located some 18 kilometers north of Tripoli, Lebanon's second largest city. (end) oh.rk KUNA 281358 May 07NNNN