Recent Clashes in Ain al-Hilweh Camp: Death Toll Rising and Call for Ceasefire

After a relatively quiet night, armed clashes returned again Ain al-Hilweh camp For Palestinian refugees in southern Lebanon. The death toll reached four people, including a civilian who was killed by “stray” bullets. Clashes have been taking place since Thursday evening between the Fatah movement and extremist Islamic groups. The Lebanese army called on all parties to cease fire, while the Prime Minister of the Lebanese caretaker government, Najib Mikati, criticized the Palestinian leadership for the renewed violence.

13 people were killed during similar clashes that began on July 29 and lasted five days.

On Saturday night, Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported that “the toll of the round of fighting up to now is four dead, two of whom belong to the Fatah movement.”

The agency reported that “the clashes in the Ain al-Hilweh camp between the Fatah movement and the armed groups are continuing, as the sounds of bullets and rocket shells are heard throughout the city of Sidon.”

It explained that among the dead was a member of the “Muslim Youth” organization, and a civilian who was killed “as a result of stray bullets in the Ghaziyeh area adjacent to Ain al-Hilweh camp, called Hussein Muqasher,” noting that “dozens were injured inside and outside the camp as a result of stray bullets and the explosion of rocket shells.”

A government hospital adjacent to the camp transferred all its patients to other institutions due to the danger, according to what its director, Ahmed Al-Samadi, told Agence France-Presse.

For his part, Mikati stressed “the priority of stopping military actions and cooperating with the Lebanese security services to address the existing tensions,” according to what he wrote on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter).

He added, “What is happening does not serve the Palestinian cause at all, and constitutes a grave insult to the Lebanese state in general and especially to the city of Sidon, which embraces the Palestinian brothers. What is required in return is that they deal with the Lebanese state in accordance with its laws and regulations and preserve the safety of its citizens.”

Through the

The Lebanese army does not enter the camps, according to an implicit agreement between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Lebanese authorities, while the Palestinian factions undertake a kind of self-security through a joint security force.

“appropriate measures”

The army added, “The army leadership indicates that it is working to take appropriate measures and make the necessary communications to stop these clashes that endanger the lives of innocent citizens.”

Dozens of families have fled the camp since Thursday evening, carrying bags full of necessities such as bread, water and medicine.

Palestinian Muhammad Badran (32 years old), who was displaced from the camp with his wife and two children, said, “I left with my family because we lived what looked like hell, and my children felt very afraid because of the density of shells and bullets that were falling on the neighborhood, and I will not return to the camp until I guarantee that there will be no… “There will be a new round of death. Sleeping in the street is more merciful and safer for my child.”

Mustafa Hijazi, official of the disaster unit in Sidon municipality, said that, in coordination between the municipality and the Red Cross, work is underway to set up several tents to accommodate about 250 people displaced from the camp.

The fighting is focused on a school complex belonging to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), according to what a source in the camp administration told Agence France-Presse.

The largest camps

Ain al-Hilweh camp is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It is known for harboring extremist Islamic groups and outlaws. It is home to more than 54,000 Palestinian refugees registered with the United Nations, joined during the past years by thousands of Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Syria.

It often witnesses assassinations, and sometimes clashes, especially between Palestinian factions and extremist Islamic groups.

On July 29, violent clashes broke out in the camp that lasted for five days between the Fatah movement and Islamic groups. The escalation claimed the lives of 13 people, most of them fighters, including a Fatah leader who was killed in an ambush.

After that, calm returned to the camp following a series of contacts between Palestinian factions and Lebanese officials and parties, and it was agreed that suspects should be handed over.

France 24/AFP

2023-09-10 00:56:51
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