The families of the Fatah al-Islam militants holed up inside the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon will be evacuated after the Lebanese army and Islamist militants finalize negotiations, a security source said.

Representatives of each side are reportedly “negotiating the logistics from which entrance the families will leave the camp” after three months of intense fighting that caused most of the 40,000 Palestinians living inside the settlement to flee towards other camps in Lebanon.

Fatah al-Islam fighters requested the evacuation of 41 women and 22 children from the camp, asking Palestinian mediators to help them negotiate this agreement with Lebanese forces.

Military officials confirmed that after the final arrangements are made and a list with the family members is handed to the Red Cross workers, the evacuation will proceed. Lebanese officials made repeated calls to the radical group to let their families leave the camp and surrender themselves.

But the militants pledged to fight for their cause and continued to exchange fire with security forces surrounding the refugee camp.

Lebanese authorities couldn’t assess the number of militants that are still holed up inside the settlement, at least 100 being killed since the conflict erupted in May. About 141 soldiers and 42 civilians were killed by fire exchange or bomb explosions.

The group draws inspiration from al-Qaeda and is led by Shaker al-Abssi, a former fighter plane pilot and guerrilla leader. He is believed to have ties with the former al-Qaeda in Iraq operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed during an airstrike last year in June.

Abssi was allegedly involved in the murder of US ambassador to Jordan Laurence Foley back in 2002 and received a death sentence for his implication.