Fourteen killed in Lebanon fighting

At least 14 people have been killed in fierce fighting between Lebanese troops and Islamist militants at a Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon.

A source said that two Lebanese soldiers and 12 others were killed. At least 18 other soldiers were wounded.

But it is unclear whether the 12 who died inside Nahr al-Bared camp were Fatah al-Islam militants or civilians.

Artillery shelling and machinegun fire rocked the camp from early morning in the latest clashes which were fiercest near its northern and southern entrances.

Smoke was seen rising from the breeze block buildings, where suspected extremists are believed to be in position.

The violence at Nahr al-Bared is Lebanon's worst internal fighting since the 1975-1990 civil war.

So far it has cost the lives of at least 83 people - 34 soldiers, 29 militants and 20 civilians.

The government is demanding that the militants surrender and the authorities have already charged 20 captured members of the group with terrorism. The charges carry the death penalty.

A 1969 Arab agreement prevents the army from entering Lebanon's 12 Palestinian camps, home to 400,000 refugees.

The Lebanese government has given Palestinian leaders in Lebanon a chance to find a way out of the two-week stand-off because it fears the fighting could spark violence in other refugee camps.

Abbas Zaki, the Palestine Liberation Organisation representative for Lebanon, urged the Fatah al-Islam militants to hand themselves in.

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