Thousands Flee During Truce in Restive North Lebanon

Thousands of civilians fled their homes Sunday in a battered district of northern Lebanon's Tripoli, taking advantage of an informal truce in fighting between the army and militants.
An AFP journalist in Tripoli reported the lull after three days of heavy clashes in Tripoli, the country's second biggest city, even as the army vowed to crush the militants.But Syria's Al-Qaeda branch renewed a threat that it will execute one of 27 Lebanese soldiers it has held hostage since August unless the military halts its operations in Tripoli.
The coastal city has seen repeated clashes between Sunni militants sympathetic to rebel fighters in neighboring Syria and Alawites.The Sunnis have recently focused their attacks on the army and Shiites citizens. The latest clashes erupted on Friday at the city's historic market, which is a major tourist attraction.
On Sunday army mortar fire pounded the impoverished, outlying neighborhood of exterimist bastion Bab al-Tebbaneh, where the gunmen were pushed back and cornered.
Five civilians have been killed in three days, among them a child and two adults. Army Command – Orientation Directorate also declared 4 officer and 1 soldier “martyred” Sunday during the clashes with the militants in Tripoli and the nearby regions.
After pleas from residents and mediation by clerics, the army allowed thousands of civilians who had been caught in the crossfire for hours to flee Bab al-Tebbaneh.The AFP journalist on the spot described chaotic scenes as people of all ages left their ravaged neighborhood.
It is unclear how long the informal humanitarian truce will last, and the army has said it has no intention on letting up in the fight."We are going through with this operation to the end," a military source said.
Bab al-Tebbaneh is home to some 100,000 people, while the parts of the neighborhood where the fighting is worst is usually inhabited by some 15,000.The AFP journalist said that even in areas far from the fighting, the streets were empty, with people too fearful to leave their homes