BEIRUT — Tensions rose in the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, on the outskirts of Saida in southern Lebanon, on Wednesday after the relatives of a murder suspect refused to turn him in to the Lebanese Army.
The suspect, Khaled Ala' al-Dine, nicknamed Khomeini, is a member of the Islamist group Osbat al-Ansar. Last week, clashes between the Fatah movement and Islamist groups in the camp — the largest in Lebanon — left one dead and seven injured. The deceased was a member of Fatah and was allegedly killed by Ala' al-Dine.
Several meetings between various factions were held after the violence to calm the situation and to decide whether to surrender Ala' al-Dine to the Lebanese authorities. Ala' al-Dine was ultimately not arrested.
According to Palestinian sources in the camp interviewed by L'Orient-Le Jour, Fatah brought in dozens of fighters from other Palestinian camps to storm the Safsaf neighborhood, where the suspect is reportedly in hiding. Barricades were reportedly erected in the camp, while armed Fatah elements roam the streets.
The mobilization spurred fear among residents, some of whom decided to flee the area.
In a statement to L'Orient-Le Jour, Abd al-Hadi al-Assadi, the commander of the joint security forces in Ain al-Hilweh, said the situation in the camp is "tense because the killer was not delivered by Osbat al-Ansar."
"Our Fatah fighters are mobilized to arrest the killer — by force, if necessary — if he is not delivered. We will accept nothing less than his handover to the army," he added. "We have orders to arrest him, even if it leads to fighting."
Approximately 54,000 Palestinian refugees live in the Ain al-Hilweh camp, along with thousands of other Palestinians who have fled the war in Syria. The camp is regularly the scene of armed clashes between rival groups.
Reporting contributed by Muntasser Abdallah.