Army Ups Security Measures Around Ain el-Hilweh

Lebanon’s army stepped up security measures on Thursday outside the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh, the National News Agency reported.

The military intensified precautions and conducted security checks at the camp's main entrances, NNA said.

Long queues of cars were forming outside the camp's entrances as the army conducted thorough inspection.

The increased measures come after a burst of intense clashes in said camp that coincided with the army's battle on the outskirts of the country's eastern border.

General Security chief Major General Abbas Ibrahim had linked Ain el-Hilweh's clashes with the battles in the outskirts saying “they were not innocent.”

NNA also said that the Joint Palestinian Security Forces in Ain el-Hilweh have handed over to the Lebanese Army Intelligence is Sidon a wanted Palestinian national.

The defendant was handed to a military checkpoint near Sidon Governmental Hospital.

By longstanding convention, the Lebanese army does not enter Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, leaving the factions themselves to handle security.

Ain el-Hilweh -- the most densely populated Palestinian camp in Lebanon -- is home to some 61,000 Palestinians, including 6,000 who have fled the war in neighboring Syria.

Several armed factions including extremist groups have a foothold in the camp which has been plagued for years by intermittent clashes.