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BEIRUT, Lebanon-More than 150 civilians fled from a Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon on Wednesday as soldiers ringing the neighborhood moved up tanks and armored vehicles for a possible showdown with Islamic militants barricaded inside.The army build-up came after a sniper inside the Nahr el-Bared camp killed a Lebanese soldier overnight, following repeated refusals by the al-Qaida-inspired group Fatah Islam to surrender.A senior military officer said an attack was looming after several days of little combat, but would not say when it would take place."This state of attrition cannot continue.At the end there will be a military operation," he told The Associated Press."But there isn't a specific time for it to start," he added, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to give press statements.Samar Kadi, an International Red Cross official, said some 150 Palestinians had left Nahr el-Bared with help from the Palestinian Red Crescent.Most of the camp's 30,000 residents already fled near daily fighting that began May 20, but a few thousand are thought to have stayed in their homes. Those fleeing Wednesday were mostly men, accompanied by some women and a few children."They looked exhausted and dirty but very relieved to be out," Kadi said. To read more go to:
As in the days of Noah...
