BEIRUT — The fight over the Pales­tin­ian refugee camp Nahr el-Bared up north is over. The Lebanese Army stormed the last posi­tions of Fatah al-Islam mil­i­tants ear­lier today after a last-ditch escape attempt by the mil­i­tants failed. At least 35 fight­ers were killed, and about 20 oth­ers cap­tured. The leader, Shaker al-Absi, appar­ently escaped.
Cel­e­bra­tory gun­fire broke out in the north, while vil­lagers around the camp pelted the army with rice. In Beirut there’s a bit of cel­e­bra­tion and horn honk­ing.
After three months and more than 220 peo­ple killed (includ­ing 158 Lebanese sol­diers) Lebanon’s worst vio­lence since its 1975 – 1990 civil war is over. Let the fight­ing over the pres­i­dency begin.