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In Lebanon, Pragmatism Tempers Jihadist Aims

[Christian Science Monitor] Nicholas Blanford - Nearly 17 armed factions and 70,000 people are packed into the teeming Palestinian slum of Ein el-Hilweh in Lebanon. The groups - secular, leftist, Islamist, nationalist, jihadist - are mindful of last year's conflict in Nahr al-Bared when the Lebanese Army took on the al-Qaeda-inspired militants of Fatah al-Islam. The Palestinian neighborhood was flattened, more than 200 militants were killed, and 30,000 residents were left homeless. Sheikh Ali al-Yussef, an influential Palestinian cleric who helped mediate between the Lebanese Army and Fatah al-Islam, now says, "It is the decision of all Islamic forces in Ein el-Hilweh to avoid another Nahr al-Bared."
2008-11-04 01:00:00
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