Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Lebanon: 5 day Gunfight in Palestinian refugee camp sees 10 dead, 30 injured.

(Sidon) The death toll after five days of clashes in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon rose to 10 on Tuesday. Clashes erupted  late on Friday as Palestinian factions participating in a joint security force begun deploying throughout the area in the southern city of Sidon. They came under fire from a local Islamic extremist group , prompting clashes which have killed  10 people and wounded at least 30 more.





Established in 1948 Ein al-Hilweh, is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It had a population of over 70,000 Palestinian refugees but that swelled to nearly 120,000, as a result of the influx of refugees escaping Syria . Ein al-Hilweh is home to multiple armed factions, and has been plagued by intermittent clashes between them as well as against smaller extremist groups. Lebanon’s army does not enter Palestinian refugee camps, where security is managed by joint committees of Palestinian factions.