A Lebanese opposition group, the Islamic Action Front, is trying to persuade the Fatah al-Islam guerrillas to surrender to the Lebanese Army. The army continued to pound the Naher el-Bared slum Thursday, but rumors circulated that a sheikh in the camp had issued a fatwa calling on the militants never to surrender and to "martyr" themselves instead.

"Religious reason is the only way now to reach any solution with Fatah al-Islam," a member of the Islamic Action Front told a Lebanese newspaper, the Daily Star. "The concept of martyring themselves is heavily entrenched in their beliefs, and so we are trying to convince them that the sacrifice of surrendering themselves far outweighs the greater risks of continuing fighting," said the source.