Four people were shot and wounded overnight as members of Islamist groups in Lebanon's Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp clashed over the handover of a suspected militant to Lebanon's army, Palestinian sources said on Monday.
They told Reuters that gunmen from a splinter faction of the Islamist group Osbat al-Ansar opened fire late on Sunday on members of Hamas whom they suspected of helping Lebanese authorities detain a man accused of killing three security agents last month. The four were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, witnesses said.
Palestinian factions handed over Badie Hamadeh, whom Lebanese officials accused of links to Osbat al-Ansar, after he hid in the camp following the killing of the agents during an attempt to arrest him in the southern port city of Sidon.
On Sunday, a third bomb in as many days detonated in the camp, following explosions that targeted a Fatah official and the home of a Palestinian refugee. The Sunday bomb exploded in an appliance shop owned by Rafik Abdo, a Palestinian also known as Rafik Bohti, who was said not to belong to any party or armed militia, Lebanon’s Daily Star reported. The shop, located in the camp’s fruit and vegetable market, suffered an unspecified amount of material damage.
On Friday, a bomb targeted the home of Khaled Shayeb, a member of Fatah’s command in Sidon. A day later, another bomb targeted camp resident Ali Shehabi’s home. An informed source in the camp expressed fear that the bombs, which caused material damage only, could be part of a new plan to cause confusion in the camp after two weeks of relative quiet following the handover of Hamadeh. Fatah and Ain al-Hilweh’s security committee are reportedly upping security, the newspaper said. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
