2023-07-31 15:45:00
At least six dead in Sidon, despite the request for a ceasefire
Clashes continued on Monday for the third consecutive day in a Palestinian camp in Lebanon between members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah group and local Islamist factions.
Smoke rises during clashes between members of the Palestinian group Fatah and Islamist militants in the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)
Despite attempts by the Lebanese parties and some of the Palestinian factions to achieve a ceasefire, “the shooting and shelling have not stopped in the countryside until now,” said Adnan Rifai, a member of the popular committee serving as governing body in the field.
Residents of the Ain el-Hilweh camp flee Sidon (REUTERS / Aziz Taher)
The Lebanese army maintains a checkpoint outside and does not normally enter the camp, which is controlled by Palestinian factions.
Clashes broke out on Sunday following Islamic militants shot and killed a Palestinian military general from the Fatah group, Abu Ashraf al-Armoushi, and three bodyguards as they walked through a parking lot, according to another Palestinian. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
View of the Ein el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon in Lebanon (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)
On Saturday, an unknown gunman had tried to kill militant Mahmoud Khalil, but instead fatally shot his companion.
Later on Sunday, the Palestinian factions said in a joint statement that they had agreed to a ceasefire during a mediation meeting organized by the Lebanese Shiite Amal movement and the Hezbollah group in the city of Sidon. But the ceasefire did not hold.
Some residents of the Sidon neighborhoods near the camp fled their homes as stray bullets hit buildings, smashing windows and shop windows. Sidon’s public General Hospital evacuated its staff and patients.
An ambulance transports the wounded from the Sidon Palestinian refugee camp (REUTERS/Aziz Taher)
A Fatah statement condemned the assassination of its security officer, saying the attack was part of a “bloody plan that threatens the security and stability of our camps.” He promised to hold the “perpetrators” accountable.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Abbas issued statements on Sunday condemning the violence.
Lebanese lawmaker Osama Saad, who represents the area of Sidon where the camp is located, told The Associated Press that the authorities are “making extraordinary efforts to find serious, effective, lasting and stable solutions to the situation inside the camp.”
Saad said that he and other Lebanese officials and security forces would meet with Palestinian factions on Monday to press for a ceasefire.
(With information from AP)
Keep reading:
Ukraine confirmed the start of a dialogue for a “just peace” in Saudi Arabia Which are the 10 most populous cities in the world, according to National Geographic
1690820426
#Clashes #factions #continue #Palestinian #camp #Lebanon #dead
