BEIRUT, Lebanon, June 12 (UPI) -- Getting civilians out of a Palestinian refugee camp where battles are raging in northern Lebanon may not be as easy as the Lebanon's premier hopes.
Prime Minister Fouad Siniora Tuesday urged humanitarian agencies to evacuate the refugees from Nahr al-Bared camp outside the northern port city of Tripoli, where the army has been battling extremist Fatah al-Islam militants, believed to be linked to al-Qaida, since May 20.
Siniora told a delegation of aid organizations in a meeting it was necessary to get the civilians out of the besieged camp in order to save their lives, saying the refugees have been appealing for a safe evacuation.
More than 23,000 refugees have managed to flee Nahr al-Bared, seeking refuge in nearby camps and other locations, but about 5,000 are still believed to be stranded in the cross fire.
Humanitarian groups have been seeking safe passage to evacuate the residents or to distribute aid in the camp, where there has been no food, medical supplies, electricity or running water for over three weeks.
The Palestinian Red Crescent, however, has managed to evacuate casualties, handing them over to the Lebanese Red Cross to send them to hospitals. The International Committee of the Red Cross said 45 bodies, 294 wounded and 164 sick refugees have been evacuated since the battles erupted.
While Siniora called for the evacuation of the refugees from Nahr al-Bared, he warned that Fatah al-Islam could exploit such an operation to move its militants out of the camp and thus take "their terrorism outside the camp."
