Report: Mawlawi Disappears from Ain el-Hilweh, to Issue Statement Confirming Escape

Islamist fugitive Shadi al-Mawlawi reportedly fled the southern Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh on Friday, media reports said.

A high-ranking Palestinian source said in comments published in al-Mustaqbal newspaper on Sunday, Mawlawi fled the camp as negotiations over his exit from Ain el-Hilweh were ongoing between factions.

Sources expressed belief that Mawlawi would issue a statement or a voice message to confirm the report.

The sources also denied that any other suspects accompanied Mawlawi.

Mawlawi had entered Ain el-Hilweh in November disguised in women clothes and using fake identification papers.

Osama Mansour and Mawlawi disappeared from the northern city of Tripoli following gunbattles between their followers and the Lebanese army in October. Reports have said that at least one of them is hiding in Ain el-Hilweh.

Azzam al-Ahmed, the aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, denied in comments to the Kuwaiti al-Rai newspaper that his recent visit to Lebanon was part of any settlement.

“Talks with Lebanese officials were comforting as we agreed that the solution to the wanted suspects at Ain el-Hilweh should be political,” al-Ahmed stressed.

The Palestinian official stressed that “there will be no strike under any pretext against the camp... as the Palestinian leadership is keen not to turn Ain el-Hilweh into a safe haven for fugitives.”

Media reports said that several fugitives, including Salafist cleric Ahmed al-Asir, salafist-turned singer Fadel Shaker, Mawlawi and Mansour, have fled to Ain el-Hilweh and are running cells that are planning attacks against Lebanese interests.

Al-Ahmed arrived on Monday in Lebanon for talks with senior Lebanese and high-ranking Fatah movement officials.

Located near the southern city of Sidon, Ain el-Hilweh is the largest Palestinian camp in the country and is home to about 50,000 refugees.

It is known to harbor extremists and fugitives.

Tension frequently surges in the camp as a result of armed disputes between the different Palestinian factions.

By long-standing convention, the Lebanese army does not enter the country's 12 refugee camps, leaving security inside to the Palestinians themselves.