At least five people have been killed and seven others wounded in clashes in Lebanon’s largest Palestinian refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon, Palestinian officials have said.
The Palestinian faction Fatah in a statement on Sunday confirmed the death of commander Ashraf al-Armouchi and four of his “comrades” during a “heinous operation”.
The statement denounced an abominable and cowardly crime aimed at undermining the “security and stability” of the Palestinian camps in Lebanon.
Palestinian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, said the fighting broke out in Ein el-Hilweh camp after an unknown gunman tried to assassinate armed group member Mahmoud Khalil, killing a companion of his instead, The Associated Press news agency reported.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) put the death toll at six, and Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said two children were among those wounded.
The Lebanese army said in a statement that a mortar shell hit a military barracks outside the camp and wounded one soldier, whose condition is stable.
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