Arab govermments promise military help for Beirut

CAIRO, May 22 (Reuters) Arab governments promised military assistance for the Lebanese army today at a special meeting called to discuss the army's conflict with militant Islamists at a Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon.

In a statement issued after a meeting in Cairo, ambassadors from Arab League member states said: ''The Arab League council ...

thanked Arab states which have provided military assistance and equipment to support the Lebanese army and security forces.'' ''It (the council) asserted the need to maintain this support by Arab states, especially in the latest security conditions through which Lebanon is passing,'' the statement added.

It was not clear if the statement meant Arab states had provided military support since the conflict began on Sunday.

The Lebanese army has been fighting a small militant group which calls itself Fatah al-Islam, based in the Palestinian refugee camp at Nahr el-Bared near the northern city of Tripoli.

At least 22 militants, 32 soldiers and 27 civilians have been killed since Sunday in Lebanon's worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war.

A fragile truce enabled aid trucks to enter the camp today after three days of fierce battles.

The Arab League ambassadors condemned the activities of Fatah al-Islam and expressed support for attempts by the Lebanese government and army to restore order. They said Fatah al-Islam had nothing to do with Islam or the Palestinian cause.

The meeting was attended by Syria, which some Lebanese politicians have accused of provoking the conflict as a way to disrupt UN moves to set up a tribunal to try people suspected of carrying out assassinations in Lebanon. Syria denies this.

Reuters AB DB2308