Clashes In Palestinian Refugee Camp In Lebanon Leave Five Dead, Seven Wounded (Videos)

Illustrative image.

Late on July 29, heavy clashes broke out in Ein el-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, after a failed assassination attempt. 

Palestinian officials told The Associated Press that the fighting started in the camp, which is located near the southern port city of Sidon, after an unknown gunman tried to assassinate Islamist militant Mahmoud Khalil, killing a companion of his instead.

In response, Islamist militants assassinated Abu Ashraf al-Armoushi, a Palestinian military general from the Fatah group, along with three of his guards.

After a temporary halt in the morning of July 30, clashes resumed. Both sides used assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and even mortars.

The AP reported that a total of five people were killed and seven others were wounded in the clashes. Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two children were among those wounded.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese Army in a statement said a mortar shell landed in a military barracks outside the camp wounding one soldier, whose condition is stable.

Ein el-Hilweh was established in 1948 by Palestinians who were forcibly displaced by Israeli forces. The U.N. says it is home to some 55,000 people.

Fateh and other Palestinian factions in the crowded camp clashed with Islamist militants on several occasions in the past. In 2016 Lebanese authorities began constructing a concrete wall with watch towers around the camp. The next year, the camp’s factions engaged in a week-long battle with a group affiliated with ISIS.

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