With 20 wounded, Ain al-Hilweh clashes fuel Palestinian rivalries in Lebanon
The camp for Palestinian refugees has long been a scene of conflict, and a recent truce has been unable to stop clashes between Fatah and rival Islamists.
Clashes resumed in Lebanon’s Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp on Thursday night in the latest instance of violence in the notorious camp for Palestinian refugees.
The fighting, which stretched into Friday, occurred between the Palestinian group Fatah and rival Islamists, leading to at least 20 injuries. Stray bullets struck parts of the nearby coastal city of Sidon, Lebanon’s official National News Agency reported.
Dozens of residents fled their homes in the northern end of the camp, where the fighting was concentrated, and some sheltered in a nearby mosque, Agence France-Presse reported.
The United Nations’ humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, Imran Riza, said armed groups have taken over eight schools run by the United Nations' agency for Palestinian refugees, blocking access for 6,000 students about to begin the school year.
