Ashraf Shouly at Palestine For Us is posting reports he is receiving from friends inside Nahr al-Bared, the Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli, Lebanon that is currently being shelled by the Lebanese military as they face off with members of Fatah al-Islam, an armed Palestinian group with alleged links to al-Qaeda and Syria, which Syria denies. Caught in the crossfire that began Sunday are the noncombatant residents of the camp. According to the ICRC, the general population of the camp numbers 40,000. Casualty figures vary, about 70 so far, including 27 Lebanese soldiers. ICRC and aid groups are struggling to evacuate the wounded and get food and water to residents of the camp.
While I understand that a 38 year-old agreement bars the Lebanese from entering the Palestinian camps and thus limits their options, I am concerned about shelling a camp of 40,000 from a distance, inevitable civilian casualties, and the effect of all this on Lebanon as a whole. Sunday brought a bombing in a Christian area of the city and Monday a bombing of a Sunni Muslim district.
In the mean time, head to Ashraf's blog and read for yourself.
Salaam.
1 comment:
keep up the good work :-)
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