The Fath-Al-Islam gang (which has 100 members left) requires direct military assistance by US and Arab governments to the Lebanese government. "The United States intervened directly in the crisis in Lebanon for the first time today, flying six military aircraft carrying ammunition into Beirut to help the country's Army battle against Islamic extremists holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp. The White House confirmed that the Arab-owned planes, carrying weapons and ammunition from US army bases and depots all around the Middle East, had landed at Beirut International Airport."