The incident comes in the wake of a series of terrorist blasts in the capital Beirut and ongoing fighting between the Lebanese Army and Palestinian gunmen belonging to Fatah el-Islam, an armed group Lebanon believes is sponsored by neighboring Syria.
Hours after fighting between Fatah el-Islam and the military broke out in the northwestern town of Tripoli May 20, the gunmen escaped to the refugee camp of Nahr el-Barid, on the outskirts of the city, in an apparent attempt to use its 40,000 residents as human shields.
The Lebanese deployed artillery and tanks nevertheless, destroying part of the camp and forcing nearly 25,000 people to flee for their lives. So far, 78 people, including 33 soldiers and 25 gunmen, have been reported killed in the fighting.
Nearly 15,000 refugees have ended up in a neighboring camp, El-Badaoui, doubling its population and, according to U.N. workers there, putting the site under severe strain for lack of sufficient U.N. and other aid.
The encircled gunmen have refused calls to surrender, and sporadic fighting still continues in Nahr el-Barid. Their ringleader has said they would fight to the last "against Jews, Americans and their accomplices," including, as many Lebanese see it, their own pro-Western government.
Palestinian pacification efforts have so far failed, not least because the largest Palestinian National Authority factions Fatah and Hamas are deadlocked in their struggle for power.
Saudi Arabia has emerged as another important player in the region, mediating a February power-sharing deal between Fatah and Hamas, which held for nearly three months, and most recently pledging financial aid and support for all Palestinians affected by the violence around the Lebanese refugee camps.
