Friday, June 01, 2007

"The fighting has created a humanitarian crisis for the camp's inhabitants, thousands of whom remain trapped inside. U.N. officials say only 5,000 of the 6,200 families registered in Nahr al-Bared have officially evacuated. Camp residents estimate that 10,000 people remain there.
"The bombing hasn't stopped all day long. Bombs are falling everywhere," Milad Salameh, a nurse who lives in the camp, said by telephone. Salameh said that from his house in the Souk area, in the heart of Nahr al-Bared, he could hear people shouting for help in neighboring buildings, but he could do nothing, given the intensity of the shelling throughout the day Friday. "The building I am in has received seven shells since this morning," he said...That anger has paralleled a surge in nationalism among some Lebanese. Radio and television stations have aired patriotic songs, and banners are scattered across the country in support of the military.