2023-07-31 20:19:56
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced that 11 people were killed and 40 others were injured in clashes that have been going on since Saturday in Ain Al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon. Lebanon.
The medical sources had indicated earlier that eight people were killed during the three days of confrontations.
Violent clashes erupted on Saturday evening in Ain al-Hilweh, the largest and most densely populated Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, between members of the Fatah movement and others belonging to extremist Islamic groups. It initially resulted in the death of a member of the Islamic groups, before a leader in the Fatah movement and four of his comrades were killed on Sunday in an elaborate ambush.
“Eleven people have been killed and 40 injured” since Saturday, “including an UNRWA employee,” said a statement by the Director of UNRWA Affairs in Lebanon, Dorothy Klaus. “Two UNRWA schools were damaged,” Klaus added, noting that “all UNRWA services in the camp have been temporarily suspended.” “We urge all armed parties to respect the inviolability of all UNRWA buildings and facilities in accordance with international law,” she added.
On Sunday, a cease-fire agreement was reached, but it did not prevent limited skirmishes taking place throughout the night, which intensified on Monday, according to the AFP correspondent in the city of Sidon, where the camp is located.
A 75-year-old displaced woman, who refused to reveal her name, told the agency, “We fled from the battle zone. The shells are falling in the streets. A shell may fall on anyone who leaves his house.” “We took up arms to fight Israel, not to fight each other and be displaced. We are basically displaced,” she added.
Several shells fell outside the borders of the camp during the past two days. Likewise, a hospital adjacent to the camp evacuated its patients to other hospitals in Sidon, in which a number of shops closed their doors for fear of escalation.
More than 54,000 Palestinian refugees registered with the United Nations live in Ain al-Hilweh camp, who have been joined over the past years by thousands of Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Syria. The camp is known for harboring extremist Islamic groups and outlaws. The camp often witnesses assassinations and sometimes clashes, especially between Palestinian factions and extremist Islamic groups.
The Lebanese security forces do not enter the camps according to an agreement between the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Lebanese authorities, and the Palestinian factions assume a kind of self-security inside the camps.
France 24/AFP
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