BEIRUT, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Lebanese soldiers detained an Islamist militant linked to al Qaeda on Wednesday as he tried to enter Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, security sources said. Wissam Thaibesh, a Palestinian, was stopped at an army checkpoint at the entrance of Ain al-Hilweh camp near the southern city of Sidon, they said. The camp, which is off-limits to Lebanese security forces, is a stronghold for several small militant groups. Muslim militants linked to or inspired by al Qaeda have become more active in Lebanon in recent years. The Lebanese army defeated one of those groups, Fatah al-Islam, in a 15-week battle at a Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon in 2007. More than 440 people, including 170 soldiers, were killed in the fighting. Several bomb attacks on army targets since have been blamed on remnants of the group and Lebanese authorities have said they feared al Qaeda or one of its affiliated groups could attack U.N. peacekeepers deployed on the border with Israel. (Writing by Nadim Ladki; editing by Robin Pomeroy)
A Rohingya mother from Myanmar attends a medical check-up run by a NGO with her child, in a refugee camp in Cox's Bazaar August 17, 2009. Rohingyas, not recognised as an ...
