Lebanon Refugee Camp Siege

Traffic passes along a main road as smoke rises from buildings during fighting in the Palestinian Nahr el-Bared refugee camp near Tripoli, Lebanon, Monday, June 18, 2007. Fierce fighting erupted in and around the besieged camp in northern Lebanon on Monday as Lebanese troops resumed bombardment of al Qaeda-inspired militants barricaded inside.

A flash is seen as a Lebanese Army tank fires at a building during fighting in the Palestinian Nahr el-Bared refugee camp near Tripoli, Lebanon, Monday, June 18, 2007. Fierce fighting erupted in and around the besieged camp in northern Lebanon on Monday as Lebanese troops resumed bombardment of al Qaeda-inspired militants barricaded inside.

A Lebanese army vehicle patrols a street while smoke rises over the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared in Tripoli, Lebanon Friday, June 1, 2007. Under the cover of artillery barrages, dozens of Lebanese army tanks and armored carriers moved against Islamic militants barricaded in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Lebanese army vehicles line up while smoke rises over the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared in Tripoli, Lebanon Friday, June 1, 2007. Under the cover of artillery barrages, dozens of Lebanese army tanks and armored carriers moved against Islamic militants barricaded in a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Smoke billows from a heavy shelling at the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared, during clashes with fighters from the Fatah Islam militant group, in the Lebanese city of Tripoli, Friday June 1, 2007. Under the cover of artillery barrages, dozens of Lebanese army tanks and armored carriers moved against Islamic militants barricaded in the Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Lives Uprooted In Lebanon — RAMZI HAIDAR/AFP/Getty Images

A young Palestinian refugee girl weeps as she arrives safely after fleeing the besieged camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon, Thursday, May 24, 2007. Lebanese leaders vowed to crush Islamic fighters holed up in Nahr al-Bared, raising fears of another deadly showdown after fierce fighting that has already killed 69 people and sent thousands fleeing.

Lebanese women walk past damaged cars Thursday, May 24, 2007, at the site of a bombing in the Lebanese town of Aley in the mountains east of Beirut Wednesday. Five people were wounded in the blast which is the third attack to hit the Beirut area since fighting broke out on Sunday between Lebanese troops and militants of the Fatah al-Islam Islamist group at a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon.

Lebanese soldiers guard Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared Wednesday, May 23, 2007, in Tripoli, Lebanon. Islamic militants that were holed up in the camp and Lebanese troops called a ceasefire after three days of fighting. During the temporary ceasefire, U.N. convoys were able to deliver aid to the camp, helping the wounded and distributing medicine and food.

Palestinian refugees flee their besieged refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in north Lebanon to safety, Wednesday, May 23, 2007. On foot or in cars and pickup trucks, refugees continued to leave the battered camp. The situation appeared calm for the time being in the camp, a shantytown pounded by three days of Lebanese army shelling aimed at wiping out fighters from al Qaeda inspired Sunni extremist group Fatah al-Islam.

Palestinian refugees sit behind the dirty windshield of a minibus as they flee their besieged camp of Nahr al-Bared in northern Lebanon, Wednesday, May 23, 2007. About one-third of some 40,000 Palestinians in the camp have fled the fighting, triggering a fresh humanitarian problem, the Red Cross said.

Lebanese special brigades patrol a street inside the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in north Lebanon, Tuesday, May 22, 2007. Sixty-six people have been killed in three days of fighting between the army and the Islamic extremists of Fatah al-Islam, Lebanese army and Palestinian sources said. It is the deadliest internal violence since the 1975-90 civil war.

Palestinians flee the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr el-Bared in the northern city of Tripoli, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 22, 2007. Thousands of people fled from the area during a lull in the fighting in the third straight day of clashes between Lebanese troops and Islamic militants holed up in the refugee camp.

A Lebanese soldier guards a caterpillar erecting a sand barricade inside the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in north Lebanon, Tuesday, May 22, 2007. Sixty-six people have been killed in three days of fighting between the army and the Islamic extremists of Fatah al-Islam, Lebanese army and Palestinian sources said.

A member of the Lebanese Red Cross carries one-month-old Palestinian baby Tala al-Qadi, after she was evacuated from the besieged refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared to Safad hospital in the adjacent Badawi refugee camp, Tuesday, May 22, 2007. The Fatah al-Islam group, believed to have ties to al Qaeda, has been battling Lebanese troops for three days.

Palestinian boys burn tires at the entrance of Palestinian refugee camp of Bedawi, adjacent to the besieged Nahr al-Bared camp, Tuesday, May 22, 2007, to protest the continued attack by the Lebanese army against Islamic militants of Fatah al-Islam. The Fatah al-Islam group has been battling Lebanese troops for three days.

A Palestinian man drives his motor scooter in front of burning tires at the entrance of Bedawi Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon, which is adjacent to the besieged Nahr al-Bared camp, Tuesday, May 22, 2007, protesting continued attack by Lebanese army against Islamic militants of Fatah al-Islam. The mainstream Fatah movement said Palestinian refugees across Lebanon could rise up if the army continues shelling.

A masked Palestinian gunman talks with children as he secures an area during a protest in Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Tuesday, May 22, 2007, against the Lebanese army siege and bombardment of the northern Nahr el-Bared Palestinian refugee camp. Angry Palestinians burned car tires in two other camps in an ominous sign that the trouble could spread across Lebanon.

Smoke billows from the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr Al-Bared near Tripoli in northern Lebanon Monday, May 21, 2007, as Lebanese troops fought new gun battles with Islamic extremists a day after bloody clashes left scores dead. Plumes of black smoke rose from the Nahr Al-Bared camp, the scene of ferocious battles between soldiers and Fatah Al-Islam, a shadowy group accused of links to al Qaeda and Syria.

Smoke billows from the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in north Lebanon Monday, May 21, 2007. Lebanese troops fought new gun battles with Islamic extremists a day after bloody clashes left scores dead. Plumes of black smoke rose from the Nahr Al-Bared camp, the scene of ferocious battles between soldiers and Fatah Al-Islam, a shadowy group accused of links to al Qaeda and the Syrian intelligence services.

A Lebanese soldier lies dead as his comrades take cover during clashes with the Palestinian Fatah al-Islam group in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli, Sunday, May 20, 2007. Fierce gun battles erupted in between soldiers and shadowy Islamic extremist fighters accused of links to al Qaeda. Lebanese troops staged a daylight assault in Tripoli after shootouts in the that port city and a nearby Palestinian refugee camp.