Fatah logos displayed in the main square of the Rashidieh Palestinian refugee camp. (Credit: Lucile Wassermann/L'Orient-Le Jour)
Clashes broke out Tuesday in the Palestinian camp of Rashidieh, in the Sour region of southern Lebanon, following a change in the leadership of the Fatah Movement in the camp, according to information from our correspondent.
A Palestinian source interviewed by our correspondent said the Fatah leadership decided to dismiss Shukri Antar, the military leader inside the camp, and replace him with Jamal Salamoun.
This change displeased Antar, who refused to vacate and hand over his office, as well as the checkpoints he controlled inside the camp, leading to an armed dispute between supporters of the two camps. The incident resulted in an injury among Antar's men.
The Joint Palestinian Action Committee intervened to put an end to the conflict.
This incident comes at a time when Lebanese authorities have, since early August and alongside the Hezbollah disarmament process, also been working to disarm the Palestinian camps, where militias from various factions provide security. So far, only Fatah has shown support for this process and turned over shipments of weapons to the Lebanese Army.
