THIS IS WAR !

BEIRUT (Reuters) - Israeli aircraft fired rockets at a convoy of hundreds of cars carrying people fleeing south Lebanon on Friday, killing at least six people and wounding 30, witnesses and rescue workers said.

They said the convoy that had left the Israeli-occupied town of Marjayoun earlier in the day was targeted by at least one drone near the wine-making village of Kefraya in the eastern Bekaa Valley.

"The night sky suddenly lit and we heard an explosion toward the leading cars of the convoy. I first thought it was a blown tire," said Reuters reporter Karamallah Daher, who was in the convoy.

"Cars sped in every direction and some crashed into ditches near the road," said Daher, who counted five rockets.

Rescue workers said at least six people were killed.

The Israeli army said it was not aware of any attack on a convoy and was checking the report.

About 3,000 civilians and 350 Lebanese soldiers and policemen had left the town in the large convoy a day after Israeli forces seized the area.

Several military and civilian cars were destroyed in the attack. Most of the casualties were civilians, witnesses said.

The convoy broke up with drivers heading into villages in the area to hide.

The Lebanese security men had been evacuated from their Marjayoun barracks by U.N. peacekeepers after high-level contacts between Lebanese authorities and world powers to pressure Israel to let them leave, officials said.

The convoy was delayed because all roads in the area had been destroyed or blocked, U.N. spokesman Milos Strugar said.

Preparations to evacuate the Lebanese force stationed in the area after Israeli troops occupied Marjayoun and nearby Qlaia alarmed civilians and prompted them to leave, residents said.

Israeli forces pushed into the area on Thursday as part of a month-old campaign to drive Hizbollah guerrillas away from the border and to stop rockets attacks into northern Israel.

Fighting raged in other sectors of south Lebanon, but there were no apparent attempts by Israeli forces, in places some 10 km (six miles) into south Lebanon, to push deeper.

Hizbollah said its guerrillas killed and wounded several Israeli soldiers in a number of ambushes, mainly near the villages of Qantara and Rshaf.

Dubai-based Al Arabiya television reported one Israeli soldier was killed and one badly wounded in the fighting. The Israeli army had no immediate comment.

Israeli air strikes across Lebanon killed 22 people on Friday while Hizbollah rockets into northern Israel wounded seven people.

UN led Refugee Convoy fired upon by Israelis

1 Dead in Israeli Attack on Refugees :An Israeli drone fired at a convoy fleeing attacks in southern Lebanon, killing at least one refugee and wounding others, witnesses and hospital officials said. http://www.forbes.com/technology/feeds/ap/2006/08/11/ap2944428.html


Israel's attack on convoy a 'mistake"

More than 500 vehicles left the town of Marjayoun heading north

Israel has admitted that it was "mistaken" in attacking a convoy of hundreds of cars carrying people fleeing the fighting in southern Lebanon.
At least seven people were killed and 36 wounded when an unmanned Israeli aircraft fired on the convoy of more than 500 vehicles.
The Israeli army confirmed it had carried out an air strike on the convoy, saying it had acted on the mistaken suspicion that Hezbollah guerrillas were smuggling weapons in the vehicles. "The attack was carried out based on a suspicion. It was found to be incorrect," an army spokeswoman said.
The Israeli army said it had not granted permission for the convoy to travel as it was too dangerous.
The attack was near the Bekaa Valley town of Chtaura, about 50km north of the Litani River below which Israel had warned it may attack any vehicle on the roads.
350 Lebanese troops were travelling wth the convoy The Israeli army said the convoy was on a route that is often used by Hezbollah to transport weapons to the south - the convoy was heading north.
About 3,000 civilians and 350 Lebanese soldiers and policemen left the mainly Christian town of Marjayoun in the convoy a day after Israeli forces seized control of the area.
Witnesses said most of the victims were civilians.
One of the dead was a Red Cross worker who went to help people injured in the initial strikes.
Agencies_______________________________________________________

Why Democracies evolve into Dictatorships By James Cooke Liberal commentators continue to respond with hysterics or dumfoundedness at the ability of Conservatives to destroy civil liberties while thus far waging three preemptive wars (yes Lebanon is a U.S. war). It should have been clear by now— with the media and Democrats suppressing or supporting the most blatant atrocities engineered by the Republicans— that larger forces are at play. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14605.htm