Nahr Al Bared, Lebanon: Lebanese troops rained down artillery and tank fire on a Palestinian refugee camp on Monday, pressing ahead with an assault to crush Al Qaida-inspired militants dug in there.
But despite 23 days of often ferocious fighting at Nahr Al Bared camp, the army did not appear any closer to its declared aim of forcing Fatah Al Islam group to surrender and lay down its arms.
A cloud of smoke hung over the camp as scores of heavy artillery rounds crashed into various areas of Nahr Al Bared, while tank and heavy machinegun fire strafed suspected militant hideouts at the edges of the camp.
The militants hit back with sporadic attacks with mortar bombs and rocket-propelled grenades.
The army is not allowed into Palestinian camps in Lebanon under the terms of a 1969 Arab agreement.
At least 130 people have been killed, including 57 soldiers, in three weeks of fighting, the worst internal clashes since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war. Eleven soldiers died and more than 100 were wounded in battles at the weekend alone.
