[UPDATE] Yesterday's clash in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp

BEIRUT — An armed clash broke out Monday evening in Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Saida between two rival factions, the Islamist Palestinian armed groups Jund al-Sham and Asbat al-Ansar, where automatic weapons and RPGs are being used, leaving at least four people injured.

Here’s what we know:

    • A Palestinian source in the camp told L'Orient-Le Jour that a member of Asbat al-Ansar opened fire on a member of the rival group, who was seriously wounded in the legs, an incident that quickly escalated into wider armed clashes, with automatic weapons and rockets fired. The shooting was heard as far as Saida, reported our correspondent in the region, Mountasser Abdallah. Calls for peace were made from the mosques of the camp. The clashes stopped following the intervention of Palestinian factions and Islamist groups in the area.

    • Reacting to these developments, former MP Bahia Hariri said in a statement that she contacted the head of Asbat al-Ansar, Sheikh Abu Tarek al-Sadi, and urged them to halt the exchange of fire.

    • The heavily-populated Ain al-Hilweh camp, is regularly the scene of shootings and clashes, either because of personal disputes or because of tensions between the various Palestinian factions represented there.