Clashes in Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camp as security void looms
The UN recently warned that poverty and crime is on the rise in the camp due to the Lebanese economic crisis.
Deadly clashes erupted in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon overnight on Thursday, leaving at least one killed, and adding to the wave of economic and political instability in Beirut.
A member of the Palestinian political party Fatah, which leads the Palestinian Authority, was killed, while seven others were injured. The fighting occurred between Fatah and Islamist groups, according to Lebanon’s official National News Agency.
The agency identified the deceased as Mahmoud Zbeidat. The clashes came as head of Lebanese General Security Gen. Abbas Ibrahim stepped down on Wednesday, creating another void in the power structure in Lebanon.
Background: Ain al-Hilweh is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon with a population of around 80,000. The bulk of the inhabitants are refugees from the first Arab-Israeli war in 1948 and their descendants. Others are Palestinians who were displaced by the Lebanese civil war. More recently, some Palestinians from Syria have come to the camp due to the war there, according to the United Nations. Ain al-Hilweh is located near the city of Saida in southern Lebanon.
