LEBANON - June 1 - Lebanese Army Takes Fight Inside Refugee Camp.

Under a hail of gunfire and shelling, the Lebanese Army moves into a besieged refugee camp in northern Lebanon where a group of militants has been hiding, crossing the boundaries of the camp for the first time since the siege began two weeks ago and shrugging off warnings to stay out. In a dramatic flare-up in fighting, tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled into the Nahr al Bared refugee camp on the outskirts of Tripoli, entering from the northern entrance in pursuit of militants belonging to Fatah al Islam, who are believed to have barricaded themselves deep inside residential neighborhoods in the camp. It was not immediately clear how far the army had moved into the camp, and whether the offensive was simply an attempt to take more strategic positions and corner the militants or part of a final push to resolve the conflict. Light machine gun fire could be heard inside the camp, suggesting the troops had exited their personnel carriers and engaged the militants. [Reuters reported that 19 people were killed, citing security sources who said at least 16 people were killed inside the camp, as well as 3 soldiers. [Those sources told Reuters that 60 civilians and 17 soldiers were wounded on Friday but could not say whether the 16 who died inside the camp were militants or civilians. [At least 84 people - 35 soldiers, 29 militants and 20 civilians - had been killed before June 1] Television footage showed Russian T-55 tanks, French-made Panhard tanks, and American-built armored personnel carriers moving into the camp, some saddled with sandbags for protection. A statement issued by the army command said that troops came under fire from the militants and that the army was "responding with accurate and decisive fire to deter them". The statement said the army was at the same time avoiding civilian casualties. An army official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the army was believed to have cornered the leader of the group, Shaker al Absi, in one section of the camp. The reports could not be confirmed. Sporadic gunfire exchanges between the army and the militants have continued daily since a truce halted three days of heavy fighting last week. The army, which has repeatedly threatened to crush the militants, has been poised to enter the camp since then, but has allowed Palestinian leaders time to try to negotiate a peaceful solution to the siege. Under an agreement signed 39 years ago, the army is not allowed to enter any of Lebanon's 12 refugee camps. A full-scale attack on the camp has been widely viewed as politically fraught, with some Lebanese leaders, including Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hizbullah, declaring the borders of the camp a "red line". In other camps, enraged Palestinians have threatened further turmoil if the siege continues. The camp had up to 31,000 Palestinian residing in it, but thousands have fled since the cease-fire that took hold last week. Thousands more civilians remain inside, however, and fears have continued that a full-fledged attack on the camp would result in a humanitarian disaster.