U.S. sends more arms to Lebanon

By Nazih Siddiq

NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (Reuters) - The United States sent more ammunition on Saturday to Lebanon, whose army is struggling to defeat a group of heavily armed Islamist militants holed up inside a Palestinian refugee camp.

The militant Fatah al-Islam group, which has vowed to fight to the death, said in a statement the U.S. military supplies included nerve gas and cluster bombs.

"If they use unconventional weapons against us, we will respond with unconventional attacks everywhere," said the statement, read by the group's spokesman Abu Salim Taha.

A Lebanese military spokesman said he had no reaction to "these false allegations which are not worth commenting on".

Later, the leader of Fatah al-Islam issued a new threat in a videotaped message carried on Al Jazeera television. The group would fight "the Jews, the Americans and their loyalists", said Shaker al-Abssi, referring to Lebanese leaders.

Shortly later, clashes erupted between Lebanese soldiers and militants around Nahr al-Bared refugee camp. The clashes with heavy machineguns, grenades, mortars and artillery continued sporadically throughout the night.

Lebanese leaders have vowed to stamp out Fatah al-Islam, which is led by a Palestinian but has little support among Lebanon's Palestinian refugee community of around 400,000.

Officials said they were giving mediators a chance to persuade the militants to surrender before ordering the army to move into the camp. The Lebanese army is banned from entering Lebanon's 12 refugee camps under a 1969 Arab agreement.