Ceasefire Reached in Ain el-Hilweh after Fierce Overnight Fighting
A ceasefire was reached Sunday in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh after a night of violent clashes that left two people dead and around seven wounded, media reports said.
“Contacts involving Palestinian and Lebanese national and Islamist forces have managed to bolster a ceasefire in Ain el-Hilweh, after fierce overnight clashes pitting the Fatah Movement and the Joint Palestinian Security Force against the two groups of the Islamist militants Bilal Badr and Bilal al-Orqoub,” the reports said.
Those who were killed overnight have been identified as Ahmed al-Fares and Saeed al-Daoud.
The formation of a so-called followup committee that sought to withdraw gunmen from the streets had preceded the ceasefire agreement, according to reports.
A Ain el-Hilweh-based Fatah source meanwhile told Asharq al-Awsat newspaper in remarks published Sunday that "orders from outside the camp" were likely behind the extremists' decision to attack the Palestinian force.
"It was likely aimed at alleviating the pressure on Daesh (Islamic State group) on the eastern border," the source added, referring to a Lebanese army offensive that started Saturday and is aimed at ousting the IS group from the eastern border region.
The clashes first broke out Thursday when gunmen from Badr's small group opened fire on a position of Palestinian security forces inside Ain al-Hilweh, a Palestinian source said.
Two people were killed in that fighting.
The clashes had forced dozens of families to flee the camp and seek shelter in Sidon mosques.
The sound of fierce gunfire and rocket fire could be heard outside the camp on Saturday as black smoke billowed over it.
By longstanding convention, the Lebanese army does not enter Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, leaving the factions themselves to handle security.
Ain el-Hilweh -- the most densely populated Palestinian camp in Lebanon -- is home to some 61,000 Palestinians, including 6,000 who have fled the war in neighboring Syria.
Several armed factions including extremist groups have a foothold in the camp which has been plagued for years by intermittent clashes.
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