Five people were killed and 52 wounded in renewed armed clashes between fighters from the Fatah movement and a group calling themselves “Muslim Youth” in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.
Lebanon’s official media agency reported violent clashes in Ras al-Ahmar, al-Tiri, al-Tamir and al-Tare following Fatah attacks against “Muslim youth” strongholds.
Medium and heavy weapons and missiles were also involved in the clashes and damage also affected areas outside the camp in the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, the agency said.
Riyad Abu al-Enin, director of Al-Hamshari Hospital in Sidon, was quoted as saying that the death toll in the clashes that began Thursday was 35, with 5 dead and 52 injured.
A cease-fire agreement was reached between the two sides following a meeting held last Friday at a Lebanese army camp in the presence of representatives of the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (Badha) and the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas).
The clash that broke out last Thursday night damaged buildings and properties and left more than 20 people injured. It also led to the displacement of dozens of families from the camp, as many of them sought refuge in mosques and the municipal headquarters in the city of Sidon.
In the clash last July, 14 people were killed, including National Security Force commander Abu Ashraf al-Armushi and four of his companions in a camp affiliated with the Fatah movement.
As the fighting escalated, civilians fled the camp en masse to escape the conflict.
In turn, the Lebanese Army announced in a statement that 5 of its members were wounded, one of them in critical condition, as a result of which 3 bombs fell on the center belonging to its units stationed around the camp.
The Army renewed its warning to concerned parties inside the camp “against the consequences of endangering military bases and their personnel”.
In the same context, the Southern Regional Governor announced the closure of official departments operating in Saraya Sidon due to security developments to ensure the safety of citizens and staff.
Ain al-Hilweh camp is one of the largest Palestinian camps in Lebanon, and with 11 camps, the number of Palestinian refugees in the country is estimated at around 300,000 refugees.
Neither the Lebanese army nor the security forces enter the camps in accordance with previous tacit agreements, leaving it up to the Palestinians to maintain security while the Lebanese army imposes strict measures around them.
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