General view of the Ain al-Hilweh camp in South Lebanon. (Credit: NNA/File photo)
BEIRUT — A Palestinian was wounded by a bullet on Thursday in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, near Saida in South Lebanon, the state-run National News Agency reported. Tensions have been running high in the camp for a week over an individual accused of killing a member of Fatah whose relatives refuse to hand him over to the Lebanese Army.
At midday Thursday "sounds of gunfire were heard and a Palestinian was slightly injured," the NNA reported.
Our correspondent in the area also said that one person was lightly injured in the Safsaf neighborhood of the camp, where the suspect is believed to be holed up.
According to our correspondent, a meeting was held between various factions of the camp, under the aegis of a sheikh close to Hezbollah, Maher Hammoud. Representatives of the Amal Movement also participated in the meeting, our correspondent said.
Last week, clashes between Fatah and Islamist groups in Ain al-Hilweh, which is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, left one dead and seven injured. The alleged killer, Khaled Ala' al-Dine, nicknamed Khomeini, is a member of the Islamist group Osbat el-Ansar, our correspondent reported.
Several meetings were held following the violent clashes in an effort to calm the situation and decide on the handing over of the suspect to the Lebanese authorities. But the arrest of Khaled Ala' al-Dine did not take place and Fatah brought in dozens of fighters from other Palestinian camps to storm the Safsaf neighborhood. Barricades were erected in the camp on Wednesday, while armed Fatah elements roamed the streets.
Nearly 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.
Additional reporting by Muntasser Abdallah