DEFMIN MURR ON NAHR AL-BARID FIGHT

S E C R E T SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIRUT 000785 SIPDIS SIPDIS NSC FOR ABRAMS/SINGH/MARCHESE/HARDING E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/03/2027 TAGS: PTER PREL MASS MOPS LE SY SUBJECT: DEFMIN MURR ON NAHR AL-BARID FIGHT Classified By: Jeffrey Feltman, Ambassador, per 1.4 (b) and (d). SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (S) In a one-on-one meeting with the Ambassador on the evening of June 2, Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Elias Murr, while describing that day's house-to-house combat in Nahr al-Barid as "tough," forcefully rejected the worry of some Lebanese politicians that the LAF had, on the second day of the offensive against Fatah al-Islam (FAI),become bogged down. Murr said that the LAF's forward progress naturally slows as the soldiers approach two FAI strongholds. Murr defined victory as the seizure of these two compounds (both of which are located outside the older, most densely built part of the camp, where the remaining civilian population is concentrated),which he estimated would take another 48-72 hours. The LAF will not have to enter the older part of the camp, Murr said, for the most dangerous FAI terrorists will fight to the death in their compounds. He claimed that GOL intelligence indicates that few if any of the FAI fighters have fled to the older part of the camp. Describing LAF fatalities by sniper fire (including a commando officer), Murr renewed his request for sniper rifles on an urgent basis. He expressed deep appreciation for the U.S. military assistance but lamented the primitive nature of the LAF's arsenal, claiming that no other army would have gone to battle against such seasoned terrorists with what the LAF has to use. Morale in the army remains high, he insisted. End summary. MURR REJECTS CLAIM THAT LAF IS "BOGGED DOWN" -------------- ¶2. (S) In a 90-minute review of the second day of the LAF assault against FAI positions in the Nahr al-Barid Palestinian refugee camp, Murr expressed satisfaction with the LAF's performance. Yes, he said, the battle that day had been extremely tough, especially compared to advances of the previous day. For example, it took six hours to clear five strategically located buildings. FAI fighters, blowing holes through walls, had created passageways between buildings that facilitated FAI movements and fire. But he forcefully rejected the worry expressed by some politicians -- including Walid Jumblatt, who called the Ambassador three times to express deep concern after being debriefed by LAF Chief of ;Staff Masri (a fellow Druse) -- that the LAF had become bogged down. Murr said that it was natural that the LAF momentum would slow as soldiers were forced into house-to-house combat as they closed in on FAI strongholds. "Yesterday we had the movement of an army. Today we had man-to-man combat." ¶3. (S) Murr said that, while there were still "a hundred or more" buildings to clear before the LAF reached the main FAI complexes, he did not expect all of the buildings to be as boobytrapped or well defended as some the LAF had seized on Saturday. In essence, he said, the LAF has captured FAI's "forward defense." He said that it is hard to estimate the exact number of FAI fighters killed, but he noted that the LAF had retrieved 16 bodies in the streets and open areas and probably killed another 25-35 in the buildings. Since the start of the LAF-FAI battle on May 20, Murr estimated that 100 FAI fighters have been killed. OBJECTIVE: SEIZURE OF TWO FAI STRONGHOLDS -------------- ¶4. (S) Murr said that, with the Khan Center used by FAI destroyed on Friday, the LAF's goal now was to capture the Samad Center, toward the seaside edge of the camp, and the Cooperative (or Tawaniyya) Center, near the edge of what Murr described as the "older camp," the most densely built part of Nahr al-Barid where the remaining civilian population is concentrated. He estimated that it would take 48-72 hours to capture these two centers, at which point the LAF would, in essence, be able to declare victory. The LAF has no interest or plan to take the "older camp" and thus can minimize civilian casualties. While there is a small FAI stronghold inside the older camp, the FAI leadership and fighters are mostly in the Samad and Tawaniyya centers. Once those two centers are captured and the FAI positions destroyed, Murr BEIRUT 00000785 002 OF 002 predicted, then the Palestinians themselves will be able to take care of the smaller FAI position inside the older camp. "Once the Palestinians see Fatah al-Islam as a bunch of losers, they won't hesitate to finish them off," Murr predicted. While he would "love" to take out the FAI position in the older camp as well, "we can't do that without precision weapons" that would limit the collateral damage. ¶5. (S) Murr drew a distinction between FAI-affiliated "bandits" and FAI "terrorists." While some of the "bandits" may try to escape the Samad and Tawaniyya centers and sneak into the older camp, the terrorists will fight to the death. Claiming to have good intelligence from inside the older part of the camp provided by Sunni informants to the Interal Security Forces (ISF),Murr said that there is no evidence that the terrorists are moving out of Samad and Tawaniyya and filtering into the older camp. Using the maps and imagery covering Murr's table, the Ambassador noted that the Tawaniyya Center is just on the northern threshold of the older camp. Might the LAF fire onto the Tawaniyya encourage them to pull into the older camp later, in an attempt either to escape or to draw the LAF into the narrow, twisted alleyways? Murr discounted the possibility. RENEWED REQUEST FOR SNIPER RIFLES TO LEVEL PLAYING FIELD WITH FAI -------------- ¶6. (S) Asked about casualty figures, Murr noted that the LAF had suffered eight deaths since the assault began on Friday, with the number of LAF wounded at around 50. He said that he was deeply concerned about the deaths of a commando and a commando officer and the wounding of another commando by FAI sniper fire. With the FAI using what Murr described as 12.7 mm Russian-made sniper rifles (most likely a Dishka machine gun),Murr made another pitch for three 50 caliber sniper rifles as quickly as possible "so that we have what they have." He also expressed deep gratitude for the incoming EUCOM flights carrying 155 mm artillery rounds, saying that these were essential to the LAF's operations. He said that the LAF had fired about 2,400 rounds of 155 mm and 130 mm ammunition on Friday but only about 300 rounds on Saturday, given the changing nature of the fight and the need to avoid depleting the stocks while awaiting the EUCOM supplies. NO KNOWLEDGE OF ABSI'S LOCATION -------------- ¶7. (S) The Ambassador asked whether Murr knew the location of FAI leader Shaker al-Absi. No, Murr said; while the ISF had some low-level sigint capabilities, the ISF needed to be within 100 meters of a location to verify the exact location of, say, cell phone usage. Given the fighting and the sniper fire, the ISF cannot get within 100 meters of the Samad or Tawaniyya Centers to verify whether Absi is in one of them. Asked about the situation in the other camps, Murr said that there had been a brief flare-up in Ein al-Hilweh earlier in the day when Jund ash-Sham fighters shot at an LAF position. But the Palestinians themselves, fearful of having the LAF open fire upon the camp, stopped Jund ash-Sham. ¶8. (S) Turning philosophical, Murr commented that "no other army would have entered this fight with this type of equipment against this type of fighters. We are facing the most dangerous people in the world with a low level of arms." FAI fighters are "the same people you face in Iraq," but the U.S. has much more sophisticated weaponry. Murr described at length mechanical and calibration problems with the M48 tanks. FELTMAN