Man allegedly linked to Islamic State group shot dead in Ain al-Hilweh camp

SAIDA — A man allegedly affiliated with the Islamic State group was shot dead on Friday inside Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp in Saida, southern Lebanon, security sources within the camp told L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South.

According to these sources, the man was allegedly shot by a member of the al-Shabab al-Muslim Islamist group in an incident that was the result of personal disputes between the two individuals.

The camp is currently on heightened alert amid apprehensions of possible retaliation, particularly in its al-Safsaf neighborhood, with a number of masked individuals appearing in the street, as well as armed men.

Within the framework of its plan to place all weapons exclusively in the hands of the state, the Lebanese Army is moving to disarm Palestinian factions in refugee camps. The most recent operation took place in December in the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Saida, where weapons belonging to Fatah were seized for the second time in a few months.

On July 30, 2023, fighting broke out inside the Ain al-Hilweh after Islamist gunmen tried to assassinate Fatah militant Mahmoud Khalil, killing a companion of his instead. A Fatah commander, Ashraf al-Armouchi, and four of his bodyguards were killed during clashes, prompting sporadic fighting inside the camp, which lasted till late September till a cease-fire was reached between the different factions.

Armed disputes are common in Ain al-Hilweh, Lebanon’s largest camp, where various opposing groups and factions coexist in a fragile balance, alongside small Islamist groups at its edges that only the Hamas movement can approach.

In early September, a major family dispute erupted, leaving two dead and several wounded.

Reporting contributed by L'Orient Today's correspondent in the South, Muntasser Abdallah.