Not one building in the main street of Nahr al-Bared, the Palestinian refugee camp in northern Lebanon, has been spared the scars of warfare.

More than three months of heavy fighting between the army and Islamist militants of the Fatah al-Islam group has left the place an empty, dusty shell.

But many of the camp’s 30,000 to 40,000 displaced people might return in days or weeks, officials said on Friday as journalists were allowed into Nahr al-Bared for the first time since fighting ended on September 2.

Lebanon’s instability is at its most visible here and Lebanese and Palestinian officials visiting the camp emphasised the importance of preventing the emergence of new militant strongholds.

The country is going through a period of intense political upheaval focusing on the election of a new president, which is pitting the pro-western camp of Fouad Siniora, the prime minister, against the pro-Syrian opposition that is allied with the Islamist ­Hizbollah movement.

At such a time, the government is weary of extremism taking hold among the more than 200,000 Palestinians in the country’s 12 refugee camps.

Khalil Makkawi, who heads the government’s Lebanese Palestinian dialogue committee, said: “As long as the people experience poverty and distress, the camps will be breeding grounds for extremism.”

Ossama Hamdan, the Hamas representative in Lebanon, called for a thorough reassessment of ­Lebanese-Palestinian relations. Palestinians have few rights and work opportunities in the country, where they have often been regarded as a destabilising presence.

This month, the government estimated the cost of rebuilding Nahr al-Bared at $382.5m and appealed for international assistance. Mr Siniora warned the “dangers will be limitless” if the camp is not rebuilt.

The government has accused Damascus of being behind the rise of Fatah al-Islam and has linked the group to the murder of Pierre Gemayel, the anti­Syrian industry minister, in November. Syria denies any connection to the group or to a string of assassinations of anti-Syrian politicians.

Fatah al-Islam militants, who claim an ideological affinity with al-Qaeda, came from a variety of backgrounds, mostly Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian and Saudi Arabian. In addition to dozens of civilian casualties, more than 250 militants were killed in the fighting and 240 were captured, said the army. But it now appears that Shaker el-Absi, the leader, got away. Army casualties numbered 167.

By the end of the fighting the camp was depopulated. Mohammed Abdel-Al, deputy emergencies director for the United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, said the Lebanese government seemed eager for those displaced by the fighting to return. “There is no set time yet but we are doing everything to prepare for a return of the displaced people,” he said.

The agency has declared that 80 per cent of buildings still standing in the new part of the camp are safe. It expects to finish further technical and infrastructure assessments in days.

The old centre where the militants held out longest is reported to be 90 per cent destroyed and is closed off by the army, for de-mining operations