By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A ceremony launched the reconstruction at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon - nearly two years after it was destroyed in battles between the Lebanese army and al-Qaida inspired militants.
The three-month fighting with the Fatah Islam group, which had hunkered down in the camp, ended in Sept. 2007.
The Lebanese government said about 220 militants and 171 soldiers were killed. Palestinian officials put the Palestinian civilian death toll at 47.
Monday's ceremony at the Nahr el-Bared camp near the northern city of Tripoli was attended by Lebanese, Palestinian and UN officials.
An international donors' conference last June pledged about $120 million to rebuild the camp. The government estimates reconstruction costs at $249 million.