By SCHEHEREZADE FARAMARZI
The Associated Press
Tuesday, August 14, 2007; 2:46 PM
BEIRUT, Lebanon -- The Lebanese military has been pounding the Nahr el-Bared refugee camp relentlessly for nearly three months, trying to wipe out Islamic militant fighters. But instead, it has given them a new form of protection: vast rubble in which to hide.
As a result, the grueling battle shows no sign of ending soon. Frustrated commanders say they could have won long ago if they had received more sophisticated weapons from the United States, the government's top ally.
Army commander Gen. Michel Suleiman has lamented the lack of sufficient weapons to fight the al-Qaida-inspired Fatah Islam militants holed up in the camp in northern Lebanon. He said the army was looking to other countries to buy weapons.
"We need weapons, conventional and advanced ammunition," he said Monday. "We didn't get anything but promises and best wishes and some ammunition, but no equipment. It's as though they are telling us, 'die first and assistance will follow,'" he added, without referring directly to the U.S.
The United States dramatically increased its military aid to Lebanon as a show of support for the beleaguered pro-Western prime minister, Fuad Saniora. When the battle at Nahr el-Bared began on May 20 _ sparked when Fatah Islam militants attacked army troops near the base _ Washington rushed supplies to Lebanon, particularly automatic rifle ammunition, helmets, body armor and night-vision goggles.
"What we have been providing is exactly what they have been requesting," a U.S. Embassy official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the press on the subject.
"We were able to fulfill their requests in a month, far faster than the delivery period for other countries, given the circumstances in the north," he said.
But the United States has for decades adhered to an unofficial policy of not arming the Lebanese military with heavy or sophisticated weapons for fear they may be used against its ally Israel, former senior Lebanese military commanders say.
Military experts say the army could have gained a decisive edge early on in the battle if it had sophisticated weapons such as helicopter-launched anti-tank missiles and counterbattery radar designed to track the trajectory of incoming artillery and mortar projectiles. The equipment would have allowed them to better pinpoint the fighters in the densely built refugee camp.
Instead, the military has blasted the camp constantly with artillery and tank shells, leveling large swaths of it. Its more than 30,000 civilian residents fled in the first weeks, leaving the way for troops to move in slowly.
The result is deadly fighting in a maze of cinderblock houses and tall buildings. Fatah Islam gunmen have shown great resilience, hitting army posts with mortar and grenades. Their snipers have also inflicted heavy losses on the soldiers. More than 130 troops have been killed so far.
Suleiman estimated about 70 Fatah Islam fighters remain in the camp, down from the estimate of 360 when the fighting began. Along with them are some 100 women and children believed to be relatives, he said.
But the dozens of fighters who remain will be tough to uproot, said Walid Sukariya, a retired Lebanese army brigadier.
"They are now fortified in the rubble and below ground. The camp has been transformed into intertwined concrete blocks," said Sukariya. "The rubble is now protecting the fighters from shells, so it's very difficult for the troops to advance and route them out."
He and other experts say only heavy aerial bombardment can do the job. But Lebanon has no fixed-wing aircraft _ only 33 U.S. and French-made helicopters, largely non-combat.
The United Arab Emirates gave Lebanon 10 old French-made Gazelle attack helicopters, but removed their anti-tank missiles before delivering them. The Lebanese army itself stuck machine guns on the aging helicopters.
The army also lacks electronic intelligence gathering and communication equipment, said Timur Goksel, a former spokesman for the U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon who now teaches at the American University in Beirut. Soldiers communicate by mobile telephones with each other.
On Tuesday, Gazelle helicopters struck Fatah Islam hideouts in the camp, destroying an underground shelter, as tanks and artillery continued their bombardment, the state-run National News Agency said.
The fight could drag on, said Goksel.
"From now on, it's going to be a very tedious task," he said. "It's going to finish meter by meter. Now, they're in one-square kilometer or so."
Suleiman's comments Monday appeared to be a signal to the U.S. and Saniora's government to get more support.
Next month, Lebanon's defense minister is expected to head to Moscow for talks, including on military aid _ another pressure on Washington.
Suleiman's comments "could be a message to America that if they don't give us weapons, we'll look for it elsewhere," said Sukariya. "If America refuses to give us, we have to get it, even if from the devil."