2 Dead, 2 Hurt as Jund al-Sham and Fatah Clash in Ain el-Hilweh

Two people were killed and two others were wounded Monday as clashes erupted between the Islamist Jund al-Sham group and the secular Fatah Movement in the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp.

The violence erupted after Jund al-Sham members Mohammed A. and Mahmoud A. were shot and wounded at the hands of unknown gunmen, state-run National News Agency reported.

It identified the slain men as Palestinian national Diab M., a civilian, and Fatah member T. M.

“Some residents have fled, fearing a bigger deterioration,” NNA said.

Sidon MP Bahia Hariri of the al-Mustaqbal bloc meanwhile contacted senior Fatah official Sobhi Abou Arab and Islamist leader Abou Sharif Aql, urging them to seek a ceasefire and contain the tensions.

She was told that efforts were being exerted to that end.

The camp had witnessed several similar incidents in recent months.

Ain el-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian camp in the country, is home to about 50,000 refugees who live in dire conditions and is known to harbor extremists and fugitives.

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

Y.R.