On the morning of Thursday, August 3, the situation in the Ain al-Hilweh camp seems relatively calm after a night of violent fighting involving various types of automatic weapons and, for the first time, mortar shells, with fragments reaching Sidon and its vicinity.
On the night of Wednesday, August 2, fighting had resumed on all fronts, breaching a ceasefire facilitated by the Palestinian Working Committee.
Contradictory information circulated in the evening regarding which side had breached the agreement. While General Sobhi Abou Arab, the head of Palestinian security in Lebanon, claimed that Jund al-Sham had fired on Fatah positions, such allegations were denied by youths within the group.
In a voice message, Sheikh Abou Sharif al-Akl, the spokesman for Osbet al-Ansar (Salafists), accused Fatah of opening fire on Zein al-Abidin Mosque, which falls under the authority of the Salafist group.
The fighting broke out on Saturday, July 29, following the assassination of Fatah Leader Abu Ashraf al-Armoushi in an ambush. Since then, clashes have been ongoing between Fatah, the main Palestinian organization led by President Mahmoud Abbas’ Palestinian Authority, and Islamist groups within the camp, mainly Osbet al-Ansar.
More than 12 people have been killed in the fighting and over 60 wounded.
