Clashes continue in Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon despite ceasefire agreement

Beirut, Sept 10 (EFE).- At least five soldiers of the Lebanese army were wounded on Sunday by the impact of three projectiles that hit two military centres deployed near the Ain el Helu refugee camp, where fighting between Palestinian factions continued for the third consecutive day despite the fragile ceasefire agreed on Saturday.

In a statement, the army command said that all the wounded, one of them in critical condition, had been transferred to nearby hospitals for treatment.

The statement also warned those inside the camp of the consequences of endangering military installations and personnel, and said appropriate measures would be taken, without specifying what.

The Lebanese National News Agency (ANN) reported that clashes between the Palestinian nationalist Fatah movement and Islamist factions had escalated ‘in violation of the ceasefire decision reached on Saturday evening’, although no deaths were reported on Sunday.

So far, at least three people, including a civilian, have been killed and “dozens” injured in the escalation of violence that erupted on Thursday night in the camp in southern Lebanon.

As residents left Ain el Helu, with “hundreds” fleeing according to ANN, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and local authorities agreed to open a school in the southern city of Sidon to “accommodate the large number of displaced people”.

This new episode of violence came after a month of relative calm in the camp, which had already seen intense clashes between Fatah and factions at the end of July that left at least 13 dead and more than 60 injured.

But despite the two sides agreeing to a cessation of hostilities in early August, tensions recently escalated over the Islamist groups’ refusal to hand over those responsible for the death of Abu Ashraf al-Armushi, a senior Fatah commander killed during the July clashes.

More than 470,000 Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, but it is estimated that just under half of them still live in the Mediterranean country. EFE amo-se-cgs-rsm/ics