Top Fatah Official Assassinated in Ain el-Hilweh
Unknown assailants on Monday assassinated a high-ranking Fatah Movement official in the Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp near the southern city of Sidon.
“Fatah Movement official Brig. Gen. Jamil Zeidan died of his wounds after he was shot by unidentified gunmen in the al-Fawqani area,” state-run National News Agency said.
It noted that he succumbed to his wounds at a Sidon hospital and that cautious calm was engulfing the camp.
According to LBCI television, two masked gunmen riding a motorcycle opened fire at Zeidan.
A Fatah camp official told Agence France Presse that Zeidan was shot in front of his home.
"He was transferred to a health center but was pronounced dead on arrival," the official added, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.
A camp medic said Zeidan had been sprayed with at least 15 bullets.
Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5) said tensions surged and armed men deployed in the streets in the wake of the murder.
On February 2, Wissam Abul Kel, a member of Fatah, died after masked men shot him near the camp's grocery market.
Ain el-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian camp in the country, is home to about 50,000 refugees and is known to harbor extremists and fugitives.
Source: Naharnet, Agence France Presse
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