Lebanese troops pounded Islamist militiamen in a Palestinian refugee camp yesterday, the second day of the bloodiest internal fighting since the civil war that has now killed 55 people and raised deep concerns about Lebanon's fragile security.
Nine Palestinian civilians were killed in the shelling of the Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon, where soldiers battled militants from the shadowy Fatah al-Islam group, a camp medic said.
Plumes of thick black smoke rose from the camp, which has been turned into a war zone by ferocious gunbattles yesterday between soldiers and Fatah al-Islam, a group accused of links to al-Qaeda and Syrian intelligence services.
Lebanese leaders vowed they would take "all necessary measures" to restore order after the fighting that left 46 people dead on Sunday alone, while the international community appealed for an end to the violence.
As warships patrolled nearby coastal waters, troops were locked in heavy exchanges of artillery and machinegun fire with militants in Nahr al-Bared, where buildings have been burnt or destroyed.
Officials are fearful for the plight of refugees.
"We are deeply concerned about the developing humanitarian crisis, particularly the danger to civilian lives," UN Palestinian refugee agency director Richard Cook said.
Doctors have describing seeing bodies strewn on the streets of the Nahr al-Bared, which like all other refugee camps in Lebanon remain outside the control of the government and in the hands of Palestinian factions.
"The electricity has been cut, there's not much water and the camp's bakeries are shut," said Hajj Rifaat, an official from the mainstream group Fatah, which denies any links with Fatah al-Islam.
Also see story:
Bomb plot suspect killed in Lebanon
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
The China Coast Guard has seized control of a disputed reef near a major Philippine military outpost in the South China Sea, Beijing’s state media said, adding to longstanding territorial tensions with Manila. Beijing claims sovereignty over almost all of the South China Sea and has waved away competing assertions from other countries as well as an international ruling that its position has no legal basis. China and the Philippines have engaged in months of confrontations in the contested waters, and Manila is taking part in sweeping joint military drills with the US which Beijing has slammed as destabilizing. The Chinese coast guard