Over the weekend, violence at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon killed at least six people.
Violence is not unusual in Ein el-Hilweh, the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. Clashes occurred between Palestinian Fatah members and opposition Islamist-supporting factions.
Tensions rose in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp when Islamist terrorists assassinated Fatah military major Ashraf al-Armouchi and four of his escorts.
The Killings and Cause Behind:
According to Palestinian officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in accordance with regulations, fighting erupted in Ein el-Hilweh camp when an unknown shooter attempted to assassinate armed group member Mahmoud Khalil, instead killing a buddy of his, according to The Associated Press news agency.
Source: Reuters
Assault weapons, grenade launchers, and hand grenades were all used in the fighting at the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp. When stray shots struck buildings and broke windows near the camp in Sidon, several residents of that area evacuated.
Najib Mikati, the caretaker prime minister of Lebanon, issued a statement saying, “We call on the Palestinian leadership to join forces with the army in overseeing the security situation and hand over those interfering with safety to the Lebanese authorities.”
Six people were killed, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), and two children were among the injured, according to Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.
All UNRWA operations in the camp have been put on hold, said Dorothee Kraus, head of the UN organisation for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
Two of UNRWA’s schools, which house about 2,000 kids, were reportedly destroyed during the conflict.
Conventionally, the Lebanese army stays out of Palestinian refugee camps inside the nation, leaving the security to the various groups.
Ein el-Hilweh camp in Lebanon:
The camp is located south of Saida in South Lebanon. With around 55,000 residents, Ein el-Hilweh is the biggest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. It was founded in 1948, concurrent with the creation of the state of Israel, close to Sudan, and is not under the control of Lebanese security forces.
Source: The New Arab
It was formed to provide housing for Palestinians who were uprooted by Israeli forces during the Nakba, or tragedy, as it is known in Arabic.
The camp has developed an infamous reputation for lawlessness and violence over the years, and factional clashes are frequent.
The majority of the people living in the camp were displaced in 1948 from coastal communities in ancient Palestine. Additionally, a sizable population of Palestinian refugees from other regions of Lebanon, mainly Tripoli, who were uprooted and relocated to Ein El Hilweh during the Lebanese civil war and in the aftermath of the Nahr el-Bared conflict in 2007 are housed there.
As a result of the ongoing Syrian crisis, both Syrian and Palestinian refugees have been displaced from Syria.
The UNRWA in Ein- el- Hilweh camp:
The UN General Assembly (UNGA) founded UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) in 1949 to offer assistance to all refugees left over from the 1948 conflict. The sole UN organisation devoted to aiding refugees from a particular area or conflict is UNRWA.
Source: The United Nations
With more than 30,000 employees, 99% of whom are Palestinians hired locally, UNRWA is the largest UN organisation.
Resolutions of the UN General Assembly mandate the vast range of social and humanitarian services that UNRWA is required to offer. Since it was founded in 1949, it has expanded its operations beyond providing emergency aid and basic social services; as of 2019, the majority of its budget is spent on education (58%) followed by health care (15%) and general support services (13%).
