Clashes rock Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon
Clashes erupted late Thursday between the Palestinian Fatah movement and other armed groups at the Ein El Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon
The camp was created for Palestinians who were driven out or fled during the 1948 war, which paved the way for Israel's creation. / Photo: Reuters Archive
Clashes have broken out in a restive Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon that was rocked by deadly fighting just weeks ago, an AFP news agency correspondent said.
The fighting on Thursday in the Ein El Hilweh camp once again pitted members of Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas's Fatah movement against other groups, a source within the Palestinian camp's leadership said, requesting anonymity as they were not authorised to speak to the media.
The AFP correspondent in the southern city of Sidon, where the camp is located, reported the sound of automatic weapon fire and rocket launchers.
Dozens of families with women and children were fleeing from the camp's northern end, where the clashes were concentrated, the correspondent added.
Ein El Hilweh is home to more than 54,000 registered refugees.
It was created for Palestinians who were driven out during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war or Nakba [catastrophe] by then Israeli paramilitaries.
Thousands of Palestinians who sought refuge from Syria's civil war have also joined the camp in recent years.
Common violence
Outbreaks of violence are common in Ein El Hilweh, but days of violence that began in late July left some 13 dead and dozens wounded.
With the renewed clashes, some 200 people took refuge in a mosque on Thursday night, the correspondent said, adding that the Lebanese army had cut off the camp's two northern entrances.
By long-standing convention, the army does not enter Palestinian refugee camps, leaving the factions themselves to handle security.
The United Nations' Agency for Palestinian Refugees [UNRWA] had warned last week that armed militants were occupying its schools in the camp, calling on "all armed groups to immediately vacate its premises".
Tiny Lebanon hosts an estimated 250,000 Palestinian refugees, according to UNRWA.
Most live in one of Lebanon's 12 official camps and face various legal restrictions, including employment.
Ein El Hilweh is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.
Copyright © 2024 TRT World.