Clashes continue at Palestinian refugees camp in south Lebanon

Clashes at south Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camp of Ain el-Hilweh in Sidon, continued on Saturday between the Joint Palestinian Security Forces and the hardline Islamist Bilal Badr group, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.

According to the NNA, Fatah commander Munir Maqdah said in a statement that "the situation at the camp is taking a military course and will be settled. Fatah movement has recorded a progress against the group of Bilal Badr. The security forces will deploy in the camp, no other solution."

Armed clashes erupted at the camp on Friday and continued throughout the night amid tight security measures taken by the Lebanese army at the entrances of the camp.

The clashes left one man, Moussa al-Khorbayti from the Joint Force, dead and nine others wounded. Several houses, shops and vehicles were burned, while schools around the camp and in the city of Sidon were closed because of the deteriorating situation, said the NNA.

The Lebanese army tightened its security measures at the entrances leading to the camp.

Due to stray bullets reaching areas outside the camp, the army blocked Sidon's al-Hesbe highway in both directions.

Several similar clashes have erupted in Ain el-Hilweh in recent months, mainly pitting Islamist militants from Badr's group and members of the secular Fatah Movement.

Ain el-Hilweh is the largest Palestinian refugees camp in Lebanon and according to a long standing agreement is off-limits for the Lebanese security forces. Endit