Lebanon militants request evacuation of wounded

BEIRUT, Aug 26 (Reuters) Islamist militants are seeking to evacuate their wounded from a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon where they have been battling the army for more than three months, security sources and a mediator said today.

The security sources said the army had agreed to Fatah al-Islam's request but arrangements for the evacuation from the Nahr al-Bared camp had yet to be completed.

''The army has no objection to allowing those who want to hand themselves in to leave (the camp),'' a source said.

The Palestinian Clerics' Association said Fatah al-Islam had contacted it to request the evacuation from Nahr al-Bared, where for more than three months the al Qaeda-inspired fighters have been battling the army.

The association's Sheikh Mohammed al-Haj told Reuters the number of wounded was not clear. The security sources put the figure at around 35.

The Palestinian Clerics' Association last week acted as the intermediary in arranging an evacuation of the fighters' families, who left the largely destroyed camp on Friday.

The army has been demanding an unconditional surrender by Fatah al-Islam, which it accuses of triggering the violence by attacking army positions on May 20.

Around 300 people have been killed in the fighting -- Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.

Three soldiers were killed yesterday, lifting the army's death toll to 148.

At least 100 militants and 42 civilians have also been killed. Most of Nahr al-Bared's 40,000 residents fled to a nearby Palestinian camp early on in the battle.

Fatah al-Islam split from a Syrian-backed Palestinian faction last year. It says it shares al Qaeda's ideology but has no organisational ties to the network.

The prosecutor-general last week charged 107 detainees with membership of the group. Most were Lebanese and Palestinians but they also included Saudis, Syrians, a Tunisian and an Algerian.

Another 119 are wanted on the same charges, including 38 Saudis and 11 Syrians.

REUTERS AK BST0156