Cautious Calm in Ain el-Hilweh, Night Clashes Kill Two

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A cautious calm prevailed early Thursday in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh after an exchange of fire overnight between armed rivals that left two dead, the state-run National News Agency reported.

Clashes between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and the Jund al-Sham Islamist group intensified overnight in the al-Fawqani street.

Palestinian security members near the al-Barraq center came under fire by what a Fatah official described as “unidentified gunmen”. A Fatah official, Radwan Abdul Rahim, was seriously injured and later succumbed to his wounds.

Another man, Fadi Khalil, an activist who was on efforts to reach a cease fire agreement between the clashing parting was also killed at dawn.

A ceasefire in the camp which lies near the southern port city of Sidon was reached early Wednesday but was marred later on by the night sporadic battles.

The breach threatened the ceasefire that ended several days of clashes.

Palestinian officials said the ceasefire remained in place despite the breach and that high-level contacts were made during the night to ensure it would be respected.

The impoverished Ain el-Hilweh camp has gained notoriety as a refuge for extremists and fugitives and for the settling of scores between factions.

By long-standing convention, the army does not enter the Palestinian refugee camps, leaving the factions themselves to handle security.

More than 61,000 Palestinian refugees live in Ain el-Hilweh, including 6,000 who recently fled the war in Syria, according to the U.N.'s agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA.

D.A.

G.K.

Comments 2
Missing ysurais 27 August 2015, 11:37

It is time that all camps hand over their weapons to z LEB Armed Forces..

Thumb -phoenix1 27 August 2015, 13:54

May our ungrateful guests come to the time when they will leave our country, and I care less where they go, but let them go, for good.