Nahr el-Bared is taken

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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.

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Hi there! Thanks for stopping in. I'm Christopher Allbritton, former AP and New York Daily News reporter. In 2002, I went stumbling around Iraqi Kurdistan, the northern part of Iraq outside Saddam's direct control, looking for stories. (Some might call it "looking for trouble.") In March 2003, I made it back in time for the war, becoming the Web's first fully reader-funded journalist-blogger. With the support of thousands of readers, we raised almost $15,000. You can read my dispatches here. It was one of the moments in journalism when everything worked. It was a grand -- and successful -- experiment in independent journalism. In 2004, I moved to Iraq, where I would spend the next two years. It was a raucous, scary and exciting place with a lot of news going on. But I've since moved on to Beirut and the wider region. I now report for a variety of outlets.

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