Lebanon: A new outcome of the Ain El-Hilweh camp clashes, after renewed fighting at night
Calm returned this morning, Thursday, to the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, south Lebanon, after armed clashes, which were described as the most violent since last Saturday, during which the ceasefire agreement was violated, which was supervised by the Palestinian Joint Action Committee, and resulted in a Fatah-affiliated death and 4 injuries.
Palestinian sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, “The situation is currently calm, and the Lebanese army’s measures are continuing, and some entrances to Ain Al-Hilweh camp have opened, and some shops have opened their doors, to witness a relatively normal movement, but with constant caution and anticipation of what might happen during the day.” “.
The clashes renewed surprisingly on Wednesday night, hours after the ceasefire was established, in which various types of weapons were used, including light and medium, rocket and artillery shells, and focused mainly on the axis of the Al-Barakasat neighborhood, which is the stronghold of the Fatah movement, and the emergency camp, which is the stronghold of extremist Islamic groups. League of Supporters, which has expanded to include many axes.
The fire of the clashes affected many neighborhoods in the city of Sidon, especially the vicinity of Sidon Governmental Hospital and the “American” roundabout, and some gathering places for the displaced who fled again in search of safe places to contain them, and military points of the Lebanese army, and care workers were also not spared. health.
Calls to neutralize civilians and health care workers
Dr. Majdi Karim, Executive Director of Al-Shifa Association for Humanitarian and Medical Services in Lebanon, expressed his concern about the scenes of escalating violence in Ain Al-Hilweh camp.
Karim called on all parties to neutralize civilians and health care workers from armed violence, to ensure that they provide the necessary assistance to civilians and the wounded without endangering their lives.
13 dead and 59 wounded
The director of Al-Hamshari Hospital, Dr. Riyad Abu Al-Enein, told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, “The situation today is very calm, and no gunfire has been heard since the early hours of dawn,” noting that the clashes last night were very violent, and resulted in the death of one person with a direct injury. in the head and 4 wounded, pointing out that the total number of dead has reached 13 and 59 injured.
Abu Al-Enein added, “We did not understand what happened yesterday, or the reason behind the violation of the ceasefire agreement, which all Palestinian forces and groups declared their commitment to. There is an exchange of accusations between the parties about who is responsible for violating the armistice,” pointing out that the clashes were violent and various weapons were used. Types of weapons and rockets, many of which fell in the city of Sidon, and 5 shells fell for the first time in the vicinity of Al-Hamshari Hospital.
Abu Al-Enein also pointed out that there are places where the displaced gather, which were evacuated yesterday due to the clashes that took place, as they are no longer safe, especially the Mosuli Mosque, which was evacuated. The displaced are now concentrated in Ashkelon School, Mieh Mieh Camp, and Nablus School in Sidon.
He added that there are about 600 people with their children who have taken refuge in the two schools, pointing to the keenness of the medical teams to visit them and carry out relief operations and provide the required assistance, especially medical ones.
He stressed that a large number of displaced people have moved to their families’ homes, especially since the situation is not yet safe for return, and among them (the displaced) are those whose homes were damaged and are no longer habitable, noting that “the material damage is very great in the camp.”
Asbat al-Ansar Islamic said in a statement issued about the recent events that it was “surprised, at nine o’clock yesterday evening, of a violent attack on its centers and mosques in the al-Tara neighborhood and al-Safsaf neighborhood by unruly elements of the Fatah movement in the al-Barakasat area, despite Asbat al-Ansar’s commitment until the moment not to respond and its always statement not to respond.” engage in absurd clashes.
And it held the Palestinian leadership as a whole responsible for the existing impunity, which “was aware of all the transgressions,” noting that the Palestinian leadership is required to lift the cover and hold accountable the extraverted elements, who violate the decision of the Palestinian consensus and Lebanese security.
It called on the army command to put the necessary pressure on any party that “contributes to the breach of security, and to put an end to the ongoing bloodshed, the destruction of the camp and the displacement of its people.”
The commander of the Palestinian National Security Forces in Sidon, Abu Iyad al-Shaalan, said, “We established a cease-fire after a tour of all our positions in Ain al-Hilweh camp, and we gave our instructions to cease fire under any circumstances, and there is a comprehensive and complete commitment to the cease-fire.”
He added, “We say to the brothers in Usbat al-Ansar that they are a friend and partner in the joint Palestinian action, and we will not confront or clash with any of their sites.”
2023-08-03 09:22:20
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