Fierce Fighting Continues at Lebanese Refugee Camp

By Margaret Besheer Nahr el-Bared, Lebanon 01 June 2007

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The Lebanese army used artillery to bombard Islamic militants holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon Friday, as it intensified pressure on the militants to surrender. At least three Lebanese soldiers and an unknown number of militants were killed in the latest round of fighting, which began after the militants fired on Lebanese troops. From the outskirts of the camp, VOA's Margaret Besheer has more.

Lenanese army advances towards the Nahr el-Bared camp in northern Lebanon, 01 Jun 2007

The Lebanese army began pounding the militants' positions in Nahr el-Bared early Friday.

Security officials say Lebanese artillery targeted two of Fatah al-Islam's main positions and the army destroyed several sniper positions the militants had established on the northern edge of the camp.

The sound of artillery fire rang out like thunder over the refugee camp for hours with little pause. The army and the militants also exchanged machine gun fire throughout the day. Steady plumes of dark smoke rose over the camp that used to be home to more than 40,000 Palestinian refugees.

The International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that nearly 10,000 residents remain in the camp. The Lebanese Army has called on them not to shelter the militants.

Palestinian representative to Lebanon, Abbas Zaki, told al-Jazeera television that military action was limited to the camp's outer areas. He said there would be no storming of the camp's interior.

Dr. Ahmed Kheir, the founder and director of nearby El-Kheir hospital, says his facility is prepared should there be heavy casualties.

"We are prepared," he said. "Because you know, we are the nearest hospital here to the battle. We must be prepared. We are prepared by equipment and doctors and staff."

Lebanese army reinforces its positions around the Nahr el-Bared camp near Tripoli, Lebanon, 01 Jun 2007

Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora said earlier this week that the two-week-old crisis requires a peaceful solution that guarantees the eradication of the militant group.

The government has demanded that Fatah al-Islam surrender and face justice and has already charged 20 captured fighters as terrorists. Fatah al-Islam says it will fight to the death.

At least twice during the day, the Lebanese Army sent tank and troop reinforcements toward the camp.

Journalists have been barred from entering Nahr el-Bared since fighting erupted on May 20. Friday afternoon, soldiers pushed reporters further back from their perches on the camp's outskirts.

Al Qaida, Sunni Militants Clash in Baghdad

By Barry Newhouse Irbil 01 June 2007

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Iraqis in a predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Baghdad say Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida militants have been fighting there for the last two days. Few details have been reported about the clashes, but VOA's Barry Newhouse reports the fighting comes as U.S. commanders say they are pursuing new strategies to isolate al-Qaida-linked groups.

Soldiers from Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division search a home, looking for a man they suspect is affiliated to al-Qaida in Mosul, 03 May 2007

Residents of Baghdad's Amiriya neighborhood say fighters from outside Baghdad began pouring into the area Wednesday, sparking street battles. There are estimates that as many as 20 people have been killed in the fighting. Residents have told Iraqi media that local Sunni militant groups, angered by al-Qaida attacks on local Sunni leaders, have vowed to expel the group from the area.

The fighting comes as Iraqi government ministries announced that nearly 2,000 Iraqi civilians were killed in May, an increase of some 30 percent since April. Iraqi news media report that at least 44 bodies bearing signs of torture have been found in Baghdad since early Thursday.

As U.S. forces continue to arrive in the capital for the ongoing security operation, U.S. commanders are pursuing alliances with some Sunni tribal leaders to try and marginalize al-Qaida militants. Commanders in al-Anbar province are reporting that in recent months local tribal fighters have joined police and Iraqi army forces, stepping up attacks on al-Qaida groups.

Iraqi political leaders are also pursuing a strategy of creating councils of tribal leaders to bring security outside of the capital. On Friday, the deputy speaker of Iraq's parliament Khaled al-Atiya met with tribal leaders in southern Diwaniya province, a predominantly Shi'ite area.

He says his visit to Diwaniya had two purposes, to meet the people of Diwaniya and to talk about the security problems they face.

Also Friday, the powerful Shi'ite cleric Abdel Aziz al-Hakim of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq returned to his home in Najaf after seeking treatment for lung cancer in the United States and Iran. Hakim, who heads of one of the most powerful parties in the parliament, spent nearly two weeks abroad.

Palestinian Abductors Release Video of BBC Reporter

By Jim Teeple Jerusalem 01 June 2007

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Kidnapped BBC Gaza Correspondent Alan Johnston appeared for the first time Friday in a videotape released by his captors. VOA's Jim Teeple has details from our Jerusalem bureau.

Handout image released 01 June 2007 courtesy of IntelCenter is a video still from new hostage video of BBC reporter Alan Johnston

The video appeared on the al-Ekhlaas web site, which is often used by Islamic militants. Looking healthy and clothed in a red sweater against a black backdrop, Johnston spoke for about three minutes. Saying his kidnappers have treated him well, the veteran BBC correspondent read a statement that condemned Israeli, British and U.S. policies in the Middle East.

"Every day there are Palestinians arrested and imprisoned for no reason," he said. People are killed on a daily basis. The economic suffering is terrible, especially here in Gaza where the Israeli, the Israeli (unintelligible) here - absolute despair after nearly 40 years of Israeli occupation which has been supported by the West."

The video appeared to be heavily edited, with some of Johnston's comments sounding clipped, and repeated out of context.

A logo of the group that is reportedly holding him, Jayash al-Islam, or the Army of Islam, also appeared on the video. A speaker from the group whose voice had also been on an audio tape released in early May, repeated the group's demand for the release of radical Muslim cleric Abu Qatada al-Filistini, who is in British custody suspected of having links to al-Qaida.

The speaker, who identifies himself as a member of Jayash al-Islam, says if Britain frees Abu Qatada, it will reciprocate by releasing Johnston.

British authorities say as a matter of policy they will not make any deals for the release of Johnston, or any other British citizens seized by kidnappers.

The release of the tape was condemned by Palestinian government officials who have repeatedly called for Johnston's immediate release. Palestinian security authorities say they know where Johnston is being held in Gaza but have avoided using force to free him out of fear that he will be harmed.

Johnston, the only western correspondent based in Gaza, was abducted on March 12, making him the longest-held western hostage ever seized in Gaza. In the video that was released on Friday, Johnston attempted to speak to his family but the video was cut before he could complete his message.

VOASE0601_In the News

01 June 2007

US Seeks to Increase Pressure on Sudan to End Darfur Violence
Is it genocide? The disagreement over whether the four-year-old conflict meets the definition of a crime that rose out of the ashes of World War Two.

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This is IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English.

What exactly is genocide? The word was invented by Raphael Lemkin, a Jewish lawyer who fled Poland at the start of World War Two and came to the United States. He lost almost every member of his family to the Holocaust carried out by Nazi Germany.

Sudanese women in a refugee camp in Chad in July 2004 protesting the violence in Darfur

In a nineteen forty-four book, Raphael Lemkin wrote that by "genocide" he meant the destruction of a nation or an ethnic group. But not necessarily the immediate destruction. It can also describe a plan of actions taken against groups with the aim, in the end, to destroy the groups themselves.

His efforts led in nineteen forty-eight to a United Nations treaty against the crime of genocide. It took effect in nineteen fifty-one. It defines genocide as actions taken with the goal to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

The acts listed include killing or causing serious physical or mental harm. Creating conditions that are designed to cause the destruction of a group is also considered genocide. This includes taking measures to prevent births or forcibly removing the children of one group to another group.

So far, the Web site preventgenocide.org says one hundred thirty-seven countries have accepted the treaty. All countries that approve it are required to prevent and punish acts of genocide.

As the example of Darfur shows, there can be international disagreement about what represents genocide.

Four years ago, ethnic Africans rebelled in Darfur, in western Sudan. They said their needs were not getting attention from the government in Khartoum.

Since then, more than two million people have fled their homes to escape government forces and allied Arab militias. The United Nations estimates that at least two hundred thousand people have been killed, a charge that Sudan disputes.

In two thousand four, the United States Congress declared the violence to be genocide. But the United Nations does not use that term for the conflict.

This week, President Bush ordered more restrictions on Sudan. The new sanctions will bar dealings by Americans with about thirty companies tied to the government. He also called for stronger international pressure on Sudan to end the violence.

Sudan condemned the new sanctions. And China urged restraint. It said there has been recent progress thanks to the joint efforts of all parties. Sudan has agreed to a proposal for a large United Nations presence in Darfur. But critics say the government has been delaying the peacekeeping plan.

Critics accuse China of protecting Sudan from U.N. sanctions. China buys oil from Sudan. It also has other investments there and sells weapons to the government.

China has deplored calls by some activists to boycott the Olympics next summer as a protest over Darfur. Some activists call the Beijing Games the "Genocide Games."

And that's IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English, written by Brianna Blake. I'm Steve Ember.