Lebanon has given Palestinian groups until the middle of this week to negotiate an end to a deadly standoff between government forces and an Islamist group holed up in a Palestinian refugee camp.
Sporadic gunbattles flared overnight between soldiers and fighters from the Fatah al-Islam group in the Nahr al-Bared camp in northern Lebanon. "There were rounds of gunbattles during the night, but this morning the situation is calm. There is an uneasy calm," a Lebanese army spokesman said, according to AFP.
The gunbattles between the Fatah al-Islam fighters and the government soldiers killed 78 people over the past seven days. "The authorities have given Palestinian organisations until the middle of the week" to try to negotiate a settlement, a Lebanese government source said.
Lebanon is seeking the handover of the Fatah al-Islam members to stand trial over attacks against its armed forces, the source said. "The government remains very determined to see those who are guilty handed over."
Groups involved in negotiations are the main Palestinian factions in Lebanon including the Fatah party of Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, the Islamic group Hamas and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP).
