11 Hurt in Fresh Ain el-Hilweh Clashes, Maqdah Denies Presence of al-Nusra Front
At least 11 people were injured on Tuesday in renewed gunfights at the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon, the National News Agency reported.
"Fighting has ended in Ain el-Hilweh and we're now investigating the circumstances of the incident," al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades commander Munir al-Maqdah told Radio Voice of Lebanon (100.5) later on Tuesday.
"The situation will not deteriorate and we will not allow any party to drag the camp into the abyss," Maqdah added.
"We're exerting efforts to prevent dragging the camp into a scheme similar to the scheme against the (Palestinian) camps in Syria," Maqdah announced, denying the presence of the al-Qaida-linked al-Nusra Front in the camp.
The Fatah leader noted that the Palestinian factions all agree on the need to preserve security in the camp and the surrounding areas.
NNA said that the fighting erupted between the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command and the supporters of Bilal Badr at al-Fawqani neighborhood in the camp.
The gunmen used machineguns and mortar shells in the fighting which came a day after one person was killed and several others injured.
Ain el-Hilweh residents later held a march to ask for an end to the infighting.
Monday's gunfight erupted between Fatah al-Islam and Fatah after Bilal Badr, a former Fatah al-Islam member, was targeted in a shooting.
Ain el-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian camp in the country, is home to about 50,000 refugees and is known to harbor extremists and fugitives.
By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the country's 12 refugee camps, leaving security inside to the Palestinians themselves.
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