From: Ma'an News Agency
BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- UNRWA, the UN agency responsible for providing services to some five million Palestinian refugees, condemned recent armed violence in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh in Lebanon that has left two dead and at least five injured since Wednesday.
As a result of the violence, UNRWA suspended its operations in the camp “until further notice” -- the fourth time in the past month that UNRWA closed its services due to “security incidents.”
“Violent incidents in Ain al-Hilweh continue to shock and frighten camp residents,” UNRWA spokesperson Christopher Gunness wrote in a statement on Thursday. “They prevent children going to school and patients going to clinics; and they threaten the safety and security of civilians and their ability to access a range of services.”
According to Gunness, the violence has forced two health centers to close temporarily and impacted more than 6,000 children who attend nine UNRWA administered schools in the camp.
“We again call on all those involved to respect the rule of law, the sanctity of human life and to ensure the protection of Palestine refugees, particularly of children,” Gunness said.
On Friday morning, The Daily Star Lebanon reported that “a cautious calm” returned to the camp following the two days of fighting, however later Friday afternoon, Lebanon’s national news agency reported that a blast was heard inside the camp, without providing further details.
The agency said a man was injured in the leg by a sniper bullet on Thursday, while three Palestinian refugees were shot dead and four were injured during a shooting incident in the camp on Wednesday.
The Daily Star described the armed violence as a conflict between supporters of the Fatah movement and radical Islamist groups.
The camp has also been the site of recent confrontations between its Palestinian residents and the Lebanese army.
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