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New fight rips at a fragile Lebanon
In the worst internal violence since the 1975-90 civil war, at least 71 people have been killed in a Lebanese Army battle with Islamic militants.
from the May 22, 2007 edition
Page 3 of 3
The group has been accused of a double bus bombing in the Christian town of Ain Alaq in February that left three people dead. It has also been accused of several bank robberies, including Saturday's robbery in Amioun.
The group's leader, Shaker al-Absi, told the New York Times in March he wanted to spread Al Qaeda's message and was training fighters in the camp. He was in custody in Syria until last fall but had been released.
Fatah al-Islam declared itself last year when it split from Fatah al-Intifada, a pro-Damascus Palestinian faction, and seized two of its bases in the Nahr al-Bared camp.
Mr. Absi, a veteran Palestinian fighter who fought in Iraq alongside Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, says the group has nothing to do with Syrian intelligence and is devoted to the Palestinian cause.
According to Islamist sources in Tripoli, the group is receiving funds from supporters in the city who belong to the austere Salafi branch of Sunni Islam. Fatah al-Islam has been using the funds to build a base of popular support in Nahr al-Bared by offering services, say sources.
"They marry widows or very poor women to give them a home. They are good people who follow an Islamic way of life," says Suleiman Abdullah, a sympathizer.
As for the claim that the group is linked to Al Qaeda, Sheikh Ibrahim Salih, a prominent Salafist cleric in Tripoli was dismissive.
"Al Qaeda is an ideology only. It is an ideology of opposition to America and Israel and to live an Islamic life," he says. "We all believe in that, therefore we are all Al Qaeda."
Palestinians in Lebanon
About 400,000 Palestinians live in 12 refugee camps in Lebanon. Nahr al-Bared, the camp in northern Lebanon where fighting erupted, houses 40,000.
Fatah al-Islam is a Palestinian, Al Qaeda-inspired organization. It has a few hundred fighters, who appear well armed, but little political support in Lebanon. The group emerged in 2006.
A 1969 agreement bans the Lebanese Army from entering the camps. Palestinian factions like Fatah al-Islam have filled the ensuing security vacuum.
Source: Reuters
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