LEBANON: Forty eight families will continue to take refuge in Sidon until the Israeli army leaves their villages

Some of the Middle East's finest beaches can be found in Lebanon, a country used to long hot summers and a relaxed lifestyle. Public beaches and luxurious seaside resorts run along the Mediterranean coast. As the ceasefire entered its second week, Sidon residents slowly returned to the beach on Tuesday (August 22). Families enjoyed the sunshine, but small fishes found in the water were a dire reminder of the war. The cause of death for the fish is unknown. "We want to go back to our normal life, and to make up for the lost summer, and the war to be over," Karim Al Sabagh, a youngster living in Sidon, said. People whose livelihood depended upon visitors to the beach complained about the lack of business. "Before the war, people used to come here from early in the morning till after midnight. And now, like you see, there are hardly any people, and from my point of view, people are afraid," Zouhdi described. A few meters down the road, in Sidon city centre, some forty eight families were the last refugees to be found in the seaside town. Two hundred people took refuge in the government building, sharing three showers. They say they can't go back to their villages near the order, fearing the presence of Israeli troops. Khadija Mansour arrived with her husband and children at the beginning of the war. "We will go back to our home when the Lebanese army and the UNIFIL will be deployed throughout the South and the Israeli army would have left. That's when we will go back to our homes," Khadija Mansour said. A Reuters cameraman confirmed Israeli troops are still present inside Lebanon, along the Israeli border, controlling a zone between two and two and a half kilometres wide. The U.N. Security Council resolution that led to the truce on Aug. 14 to end the 34-day war called for 15,000 U.N. troops to join a similar number of Lebanese army troops deploying in the south of the country.

ITN Source | August 23, 2006

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