Bullets, shells hit Sidon as deadly clashes renew in Ain al-Helweh

Clashes renewed Sunday in the Ain al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp near Sidon between the secular Fatah Movement and hardline Islamist groups.

TV networks said the fighting resumed after a senior Fatah commander was killed in an ambush.

An Islamist had been killed and six people including children had been injured in overnight clashes in the camp.

Key Sidon highways were closed to traffic on Sunday as stray bullets and shells landed in various areas of the major southern Lebanese city.

Clashes between rival groups are common in Ain al-Helweh, which is home to more than 54,000 registered Palestinian refugees who have been joined in recent years by thousands of Palestinians fleeing the conflict in Syria.

The incidents come about two months after similar clashes killed a Fatah member in the same camp.

Lebanon's official news agency NNA said "an assassination attempt targeting an Islamist activist" rocked the camp on Saturday.

By long-standing convention, the Lebanese Army does not enter Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, leaving the factions themselves to handle security.

That has created lawless areas in many camps, and Ain al-Helweh has gained notoriety as a refuge for extremists and fugitives.

In March, one person was killed and several others wounded in overnight clashes in the camp, that pitted members of Abbas' Fatah Movement against Islamist groups.

More than 450,000 Palestinians are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon.

Most live in one of 12 official refugee camps, often in squalid conditions, and face a variety of legal restrictions, including on their employment.