BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNS) – The patriarch of Lebanon's Maronite Catholic Church has appealed for calm after internal violence in northern Lebanon left dozens dead.
"These clashes are threatening the country's stability (and) are the product of enemies to the country and the truth," said Cardinal Nasrallah P. Sfeir May 20.
Raging street battles broke out May 20 between the Lebanese army and militants from the Sunni, al-Qaida-linked Fatah Islam group in the northern port city of Tripoli and the nearby Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared.
Thick smoke billowed from the camp as sporadic clashes continued into the next day after a brief cease-fire to allow the evacuation of wounded civilians.
One of 12 refugee camps that are home to 400,000 Palestinian refugees inside Lebanon, Nahr el-Bared is controlled by armed Palestinian factions and remains off limits to the Lebanese army.
Formed in late 2006, Fatah Islam is thought to have only around 200 members. Although it has been disowned both by mainstream Palestinian groups and the Syrian government, its fighters appear well-armed, well-trained and fiercely motivated.
The group threatened to extend attacks beyond Tripoli if the Lebanese army continued to pound its positions.
Meanwhile, a car bomb at a shopping mall in Beirut's Christian quarter of Achrafieh exploded May 21, killing one woman and injuring a dozen more. The explosion also destroyed 15 nearby buildings, including a local school.
The blast came after a three-month lull in such attacks and stirred panic among many Lebanese.
Lebanon has been teetering on the brink of widespread internal strife since the resignation of all the country's Shiite Cabinet ministers last November, when Hezbollah, the Iranian- and Syrian-backed militant group, launched a campaign to ouster the Western-leaning government of Sunni Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
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