Lebanese leaders praise troops on eve of Army Day

BEIRUT - Lebanese leaders on the eve of the country's national Army Day have praised troops who have been engaged since May 20 in fighting with Islamic militants in the north.

'This anniversary witnesses heroic acts and sacrifices ... to confront the plots of the terrorist gangs which are seeking to destroy Lebanon,' said Prime Minister Fouad Seniora in a statement released Tuesday.

'We are determined to make the rifle of the army the protection and deterrent force that would also confront all threats against the nation and its unity,' the statement said.

President Emile Lahoud in a televised speech to mark the occasion praised the army saying 'no one will ever undermine its strength.'

Lebanon's army commander also on Tuesday inspected his troops in northern Lebanon where the army has been engaged in a 10-week battle with Fatah al-Islam militants who are holed up in the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp.

General Michel Suleiman paid tribute to the 123 soldiers who have been killed in the fighting.

Streets across the country were plastered Tuesday with pictures of troops and messages reading 'We are all with you.'

Young people on roads leading to northern Lebanon wore army fatigues and distributed white and red roses to passers-by.

Meanwhile, army troops were still on Tuesday advancing deeper into the devastated camp to push the remaining militants to surrender.

According to army sources by Tuesday night the militants were confined to a very small area inside the camp, and troops were advancing slowly to spare the lives of some 50 to 70 civilians, most of whom are families of Fatah al-Islam, who are still inside the camp.

More than 200 people have been killed in the standoff, the deadliest internal violence in Lebanon since the end of the 1975-1990 civil war.

Nahr al-Bared's 40,000 refugees have fled the camp since the fighting broke out and are now refugees at the nearby Bedawi camp.

Army Day is being celebrated this year amid deep political divisions in the country and fears that the country might be heading towards a new war.

'The salvation of the country will come from you,' Suleiman said in a statement addressed to his troops. 'All the people stand by you. They know that you are the cement that unites the country.'

The Hezbollah-led opposition has been campaigning since December 1 with street protests and sit-ins outside Seniora's office in downtown Beirut to try to force him to resign or join a national unity cabinet that would give the opposition veto power.

Seniora, backed by the anti-Syrian parliamentary majority and the United States, has rejected the opposition's demand.