Armed clashes erupted between Fatah and other armed groups in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in southern Lebanon on Thursday night, a little over a month after a ceasefire ended days of violence in the camp, according to the Lebanese National News Agency.
A large number of residents of the camp were displaced from their homes due to the renewed fighting, as the militants fired RPGs and machine guns toward each other.
According to Lebanese LBCI television network, an audio recording was circulated on social media attributed to Haitham al-Shaabi, an official from the “Muslim Youth” group, in which he said the group was launching a battle to “purge the Ain al-Hilweh camp of apostates.”
The Palestinian Joint Action Authority in Lebanon urged a return to the ceasefire, stating “We call for a ceasefire in the Ain al-Hilweh camp, to make way for the joint Palestinian security force in the camp and the Joint Action Authority in Sidon to carry out their duties and implement what has been entrusted to them.”
Ceasefire between Fatah and Islamists lasted a month
In late July and early August, 13 people were killed amid clashes between Fatah and Islamist groups in the refugee camp. Thousands of people were displaced due to the clashes.
A member of the Islamic Medical Association walks near residents who fled Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp after Palestinian faction clashes, outside in a mosque in Sidon, Lebanon July 30, 2023 (credit: AZIZ TAHER/REUTERS)The clashes in late July were sparked after the killing of an Islamic militant by Fatah militants, followed by the killing of Fatah official Abu Ashraf al-Armoushi and four other Fatah members in the camp.
On August 3, a ceasefire was reached, with the violence ending shortly afterward. Tensions remained high in the camp, however, with humanitarian access inhibited in certain parts of the camp, according to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
In the weeks since the ceasefire was reached, UNRWA reported that a number of the schools it manages in the camp were taken over by militant groups.
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