Clashes continue at Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon

By Charbel Abboud

BEIRUT

Lebanon’s Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp on Monday saw its fourth consecutive day of clashes between rival Palestinian factions, according to local sources at the camp.

The clashes, which reportedly involve the use of machine guns and mortars, have pitted forces loyal to the Palestinian Fatah movement against the “Bilal Badr group”, a Salafist faction whose critics accuse it of pursuing a “foreign agenda”.

Local sources, who spoke to Anadolu Agency anonymously due to security fears, were unable to say whether Monday’s clashes had resulted in any deaths or injuries.

A similar round of fighting last Friday, however, left at least four people dead and damaged several homes in the camp, according to local security sources.

Located southeast of Lebanon’s coastal city of Sidon, Ain al-Hilweh is currently home to more than 100,000 Palestinian refugees, many of whom came to the camp after fleeing the conflict in next-door Syria.

The camp is also home to a range of Palestinian groups and factions of competing political affiliations.

According to UN figures, roughly 460,000 Palestinians are currently living in 12 refugee camps scattered across Lebanon.