Nine died in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon Issued

  Fighting continued in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon on Monday, killing at least nine people. In the Ein el-Hilweh camp, clashes broke out between the Fatah movement of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas and rival Islamist groups. Among the dead was also a Fatah commander, the movement confirmed. The troubled Ein el-Hilweh camp, established in 1948, is Lebanon's largest camp, with more than 63,000 registered refugees, according to the United Nations. According to some estimates, the population is higher. The camp, near the southern city of Sidon, is outside the jurisdiction of the Lebanese security forces. Competing factions in the camp are tasked with maintaining its security, but factional disputes are common.

 The weekend violence erupted on Saturday when a member of the Islamist group was killed, the AFP news agency reported, citing an unnamed source in the camp. Tensions escalated until Sunday, culminating in the death of Fatah commander Ashraf al-Armouch and several of his aides. A ceasefire was agreed late on Sunday, but clashes continued through the night. According to the AFP news agency, automatic weapons and anti-tank fire were heard on Monday morning. Dozens of residents fled their homes in the camp.

 Ceasefire negotiations are ongoing and a local MP is expected to meet on Monday to resolve tensions. In a statement quoted by AFP, Fatah condemned the "heinous and cowardly crime" aimed at undermining the "security and stability" of Palestinian camps in Lebanon. The Palestinian president condemned the fighting and called the security of the camps a "red line". "No one can intimidate our people and violate their security," the statement said. In addition to the nine deaths, Lebanese soldiers were injured in the violence, the Lebanese army said.

 Dorothee Kraus, the head of the United Nations Refugee Agency for Palestine Refugees in Lebanon (UNRWA), said that all agency activities in the camp have been suspended. He called on "all warring parties to ensure the safety of civilians and respect the integrity of UN sites. More than 479,000 refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, the agency said. About half of them live in the country's 12 refugee camps with "deplorable" living conditions, it added.