Refugees leave Lebanon camp; U.N. workers freed

Story Highlights

• About 2,000 refugees move out of Nahr al-Bared refugee camp
• U.N. workers shaken but unhurt after being fired on, trapped in camp
• Cease-fire broken as U.N. trucks fired on in Palestinian camp
• Fatah al-Islam militant blows himself up in Tripoli

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TRIPOLI, Lebanon (CNN) -- Some 2,000 Palestinians have fled a refugee camp near Tripoli after three days of fighting, according to the Red Crescent.

Their exit began as night fell Tuesday, amid a lull in the clashes between militants of the Fatah al-Islam group and the Lebanese army.

Video from the Nahr al-Bared camp showed some leaving on foot, carrying babies and a few belongings, and others crowded into cars and vans.

Many of those leaving carried makeshift white flags or waved them from car windows. An elderly woman wept as she sat in a wheelchair waiting to be taken from the camp. (Watch first pictures of refugees fleeing, Palestinians seeking treatment )

The Red Crescent said it had helped the refugees get to the nearby Bedawi camp, where they will spend the night at schools. It said snipers had fired at some in the crowd as they left.

It's not clear how many civilians have been killed or injured during the fighting at the Nahr al-Bared camp. A nurse at the Alkhair hospital in Tripoli said it received seven wounded civilians and two dead Tuesday from the same family.

Workers from relief convoy free

A truce declared by Fatah al-Islam in the Palestinian refugee camp ended soon after it was announced Tuesday, when a U.N. relief convoy in the camp came under fire at 11:30 GMT (7:30 a.m. ET)

A U.N. official in Beirut said several of the agency's workers were trapped inside the camp for several hours, but later got out shaken but unhurt. It's not clear who fired on the convoy or whether it was targeted. (Watch an explanation of what's behind the fighting )

The Lebanese army had said it would not fire unless fired upon. A spokeswoman for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, Hoda Samara, told CNN from Beirut that the relief convoy had been loaded with water, food and medical supplies.

"The humanitarian situation is very, very bad," she told CNN, "and deteriorating every minute. Inside the camp, there are no hospitals and only one health center," which had been unable to stay open during the fighting. The overcrowded camp was home to some 40,000 people.

CNN senior international correspondent Nic Robertson, reporting from Tripoli, quotes U.N. officials as saying they are negotiating with both the army and the militants for the safe passage of the aid workers stranded in the camp.

Battles between Lebanese soldiers and militants have killed at least 30 troops and as many as 25 militants, according to Bilal Aslan, who belongs to the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. The fighting has also left 20 civilians dead, he said.

Earlier Tuesday, Fatah al-Islam had declared a unilateral cease-fire from 11:30 GMT (7:30 a.m. ET), and the Lebanese army said it would not open fire unless fired upon.

Shortly after the cease-fire was announced, Aslan said Fatah al-Islam would pull all gunmen from the streets and prevent them from using the camp's rooftops to fire weapons.

Also, food supplies would be distributed to residents and the wounded would be evacuated to hospitals, Aslan said.

The fighting was sparked early Sunday when Lebanese internal security forces raided a building in a neighborhood north of Tripoli, army sources said. Militants from Fatah al-Islam fired on the forces, who returned fire, triggering clashes in the vicinity of the camp. (Watch up-close video of gunbattles in the streets Sunday )

A spokesman for the militants said they would keep on fighting.

"We were forced and compelled to be in this confrontation with the Lebanese army," Abu Salim, a spokesman for Fatah al-Islam, said Tuesday in an interview on Arabic language network Al-Jazeera.

Conditions inside the camp were said to be difficult, according to a top Palestinian military official who lives inside Nahr al-Bared.

In a separate incident, Lebanese security forces said Tuesday they located a Fatah al-Islam militant in a 10-story apartment block on the edge of Tripoli. (Watch damage to the apartment building )

After six hours of sometimes heavy fighting, the Fatah al-Islam fighter is believed to have blown himself up. Robertson, reporting from the scene, said the building was heavily damaged in the fighting, with black smoke pouring into the sky. When the fighting ended, crowds took to the streets to cheer the Lebanese army.

On Monday, the Lebanese Cabinet declared its "full support" for military efforts to end the fighting, said Mohamed Chatah, a senior adviser to Prime Minister Fouad Siniora. (Watch how the fighting is taking a toll )

"Everybody in Tripoli is just scared," said Maya Halabi, a resident of Tripoli. "We never knew that there are terrorists in our town."

Camp conditions 'breeding ground' for militants

Nahr al-Bared is about nine miles (16 kilometers) north of Tripoli, Lebanon's second-largest city that is home to a large population of Sunni Muslims.

The camp houses 31,023 registered refugees, according to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency. It is one of 12 Palestinian camps in Lebanon in which the United Nations operates. The agency estimates there are 350,000 refugees in the camps. (Facts on refugee camps)

The living conditions at the camp are partly to blame for the rise of Fatah al-Islam, according to Khalil Makkawi, a former ambassador to the United Nations. (Full story)

It is unclear whether the militant group has ties to al Qaeda.

Though Syria has claimed Fatah al-Islam is connected to the terror group, Lebanese Interior Minister Hasan al-Sabaa has described Fatah al-Islam as "part of the Syrian intelligence-security apparatus," according to Jane's Information Group, which provides analysis on international security matters.

Lebanon's economy minister on Monday asked for money and resources to help Lebanese forces battling the militants. (Full story)

Assassination tribunal

The U.N. Security Council is considering passing a resolution that would enforce the establishment of an international tribunal to try suspects for the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri.

That is an idea unpopular with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has links to Syria. Many people believe Syria was behind the killing.

The White House on Tuesday repeated its warning to Syria not to interfere in Lebanon in an effort to delay the international tribunal. In addition, the United States is planning to step up its assistance to the Lebanese army.

Military and diplomatic sources told CNN that the Lebanese government Tuesday sent Washington a request for more military assistance -- describing its most urgent needs as ammunition, helmets and armored vests.

Such supplies are allowed under a program the United States began last year to beef up the Lebanese army's capabilities, after Israel's war with Hezbollah. The program is worth about $40 million, and has mainly included basic items such as humvees, trucks and spare parts for helicopters.

Military officials say that the aim of such aid is to ensure that Lebanon does not become a haven for groups linked to al Qaeda.

CNN's Saad Abedine, Caroline Faraj, Nada Husseini, Elise Labott, Octavia Nasr and Brent Sadler contributed to this report.