Palestinians in Lebanon siege camp running out of supplies

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (AFP) — Palestinian groups and aid workers said on Wednesday they are working to protect hundreds of refugees believed to be trapped by deadly fighting around a camp in north Lebanon and running out of supplies.

Lebanese security services, meanwhile, said three Islamist fighters were killed as the army repulsed an attack late Tuesday inside the bombed-out Nahr al-Bared refugee camp.

A correspondent reported renewed exchanges of gunfire on Wednesday between troops and Fatah al-Islam extremists around the camp where electricity and running water have been cut, amid sporadic shelling by the military.

Bilal Aslan, a senior official of the mainstream Palestinian faction Fatah, told AFP from inside the camp that a "security cordon" has been set up for civilians in the heart of the southern sector of Nahr al-Bared.

Fatah al-Islam was being kept out by force if necessary, he said, ...