Tensions Persist at Nahr al-Bared Despite Army, Palestinian Efforts to Restore Calm
Tensions have remained high in the Palestinian refugee camp of Nahr al-Bared in light of the killing of a Palestinian during a confrontation outside the shantytown, reported the daily An Nahar on Sunday,
It said that a meeting was held between a number of officers headed of Army Intelligence Edmond Fadel and a delegation of Palestinian factions in order to restore calm in the camp.
Fadel pledged on behalf of Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji to uncover the details of the crime “through a swift investigation that will determine the perpetrators and prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future.”
For their part, the factions stressed the “deep relations between the Lebanese and Palestinian people, especially their ties with the army.”
Both sides emphasized the need to prevent the incident from being politically exploited.
A Palestinian was killed and three others were wounded on Friday when the Lebanese army opened fire during a spat at the Nahr al-Bared refugee camp in northern Lebanon, a Palestinian source told Agence France Presse.
The violence erupted after the army arrested two Palestinian men who were on a motorcycle and refused to stop at a checkpoint, the source said.
The arrest prompted hundreds of the camp’s residents to block roads with burning tires and hurl stones at army troops, the source told AFP.
The Army Command said in a statement on Saturday that the spat erupted when soldiers arrested an individual on a motorcycle who was not carrying any official papers.
Nearby residents soon flocked to the area and began pelting the army with rocks, before blocking the road leading to Nahr al-Bared with burning tires.
Clashes then broke out between the army and “saboteurs” as the former tried to reopen the road, said the statement.
A number of injuries were reported and several individuals were consequently arrested in the incident as the army continued its attempt to reopen the road, it added.
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