11/9/2023-|Last update: 11/9/202303:16 PM (Mecca time)
The Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon is witnessing intermittent clashes between members of the Fatah movement and a group calling itself Muslim Youth, while the death toll from these clashes rose to 6 dead and 60 wounded after another person was killed on Monday.
Imad Hallaq, Director of Media at the Palestinian Red Crescent – Lebanon Branch, said that there were civilians and militants among the victims of the clashes, which broke out last Thursday between fighters from the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Fatah) and a group calling itself “Muslim Youth.”
The clashes renewed today – according to sources in the city of Sidon, where the camp is located – and eyewitnesses reported hearing the sound of shells and machine guns, after the intensity of the clashes had decreased yesterday evening.
The Lebanese official media agency reported that sniper bullets – during those clashes – hit neighborhoods in the city of Sidon in the south of the country, whose southern entrance was closed to traffic.
Yesterday, the Lebanese Army announced that 3 shells had fallen in two of its centers near the camp, wounding 5 soldiers, one of whom was in critical condition.
The official media agency also reported yesterday that violent confrontations, in which medium and heavy weapons were used, were taking place in several neighborhoods in the camp, following an attack launched by Fatah on the strongholds of the “Muslim Youth” group.
It is noteworthy that the warring parties had reached a ceasefire agreement last Friday following a meeting in a Lebanese army barracks, in the presence of representatives of the Fatah movement and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
The clashes, which broke out last Thursday evening, led to the displacement of dozens of families from the camp, while some took refuge in mosques in the city of Sidon and the municipal headquarters.
“Ain al-Hilweh” is one of the largest Palestinian camps in Lebanon, along with 11 other camps, where the number of Palestinian refugees in this country is estimated at about 300,000.
The Lebanese army or security forces do not enter the camps according to previous implicit agreements, leaving the task of maintaining security there to the Palestinians themselves, while the Lebanese army imposes strict measures around them.
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2023-09-11 12:10:21
