A man walks past a poster of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut. Feb. 7, 2024. (Credit: João Sousa/L'Orient Today)
An armed clash between drug traffickers erupted late Friday night in Beirut’s Shatila refugee camp, involving machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. The confrontation left at least three people injured and prompted swift intervention from the Lebanese Army and Palestinian factions, L’Orient Today’s correspondent reported Saturday.
According to sources inside the camp, the clash resulted in at least three injuries and caused a fire in a home, which residents quickly extinguished while rescuing those inside. A state of tension prevailed throughout the camp.
Loudspeakers broadcasted calls to cease fire and urged residents to take to the streets to pressure the gunmen to stop shooting. The Lebanese Army command made calls to Palestinian factions, stressing the need to resolve the incident in Shatila Camp, expose those involved, and hand them over.
Security forces then raided the location of the clash in Shatila Camp and arrested several individuals. Additionally, the National Security Forces raided the hideout of Osama Al-Ladawi, known as "Al-Akhras," who is accused of initiating the clash, our correspondent reported. Weapons and drugs were confiscated, and the site was cordoned off.
Clashes in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon are common. In early September, a major family dispute erupted in the Ain al-Hilweh camp in Saida, involving gunfire that left two dead and several injured, including four in critical condition who were transferred outside the camp for treatment.
The disarmament of Palestinian camps in Lebanon, initially scheduled for June 16 but delayed due to the Iran-Israel war and lack of cooperation from some factions, including Hamas, officially began on Aug. 21 in Burj al-Barajneh. The camp, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, mainly hosts PLO factions such as Fatah, which has long supported the process.
Disarmament is expected to be far more complicated in Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon’s largest camp, where fragile balances exist between several rival factions coexisting alongside Islamist groups on its outskirts — groups only Hamas can reach.
The disarmament operation in Palestinian camps is proceeding under the decision made at the May summit between President Joseph Aoun and his Palestinian counterpart, Mahmoud Abbas.
Reporting contributed by Muntasser Abdallah
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