Five Palestinians were killed and 32 others were injured in the clashes that erupted in Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon on Sunday according to the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA).
The Palestinian factions in the camp agreed to dissolve the Bilal Bader extremist group and gave them a 6-hour time limit to surrender and hand their weapons to the joint security force of the camp.
The NNA said that intermittent clashes broke out during the night between the joint security force and the Bilal Bader group adding that rocket-propelled grenades were fired three of which fell outside the camp with no injuries reported.
The NNA added that the Lebanese army tightened the security measures at the entrances of the camp and in the surrounding areas.
The Palestinian factions in Ain al-Hilweh said in a press conference that the joint security force is entitled by Palestinians and the Lebanese state to enter any place in the camp without exception and end any disorder.
They confirmed their adherence to the Palestinian unity in addressing all issues.
Ayman Shanaa a Hamas political official in Lebanon told the PIC that a state of cautious calm prevailed in Ain al-Hilweh during the day adding that his Movement is working hard in cooperation with the Palestinian factions to reach a complete ceasefire.
Shanaa said “What matters to us is to protect the lives of civilians in Ain al-Hilweh and restore the economic and social security to the camp.”
These clashes came six weeks after similar clashes broke out in the camp which ended with a Palestinian consensus to form a joint security force to oversee the security situation in the camp.
In statements quoted by Associated Press news agency and a number of Lebanese media outlets the Palestinian security chief Subhi Abu Arab said that the Palestinian forces will continue their operations in the camp until Bilal Bader and the other gunmen turn themselves in.
Bilal Bader a leader in Jund al-Sham and his group are accused of extremism and using rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns in the clashes which flared on Friday and continued till Sunday morning in Ain al-Hilweh.
The NNA reported that the clashes in the Palestinian camp led to cutting off the road between Sidon city where the camp is located and other parts in southern Lebanon.
Ain al-Hilweh the most populated camp among the 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon has a population of more than 54000 Palestinian refugees out of 450000 registered in the United Nations in Lebanon. Thousands of Palestinians fleeing violence in Syria have joined them over the past years.
