Three fighters and a civilian were killed on Saturday in renewed clashes at a south Lebanon “Palestinian refugee camp”, AFP reported, citing official Lebanese media.
Renewed fighting broke out late Thursday in Ain Al-Hilweh refugee camp on the outskirts of the coastal city of Sidon, just weeks after deadly violence pitted members of Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement against Islamist militants.
Ongoing clashes inside the camp on Saturday killed "two people from Fatah" and an Islamist, while "a civilian was killed by a stray bullet" outside the camp, Lebanon's official National News Agency (NNA) said, reporting dozens of others wounded.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati rebuked Abbas over the violence, telling him, according to a statement from his office, "What is taking place does not serve the Palestinian cause at all and is a serious offence to the Lebanese state" and the city of Sidon.
Mikati emphasized "the priority of ending military operations and cooperating with Lebanese security forces to address tensions", according to the statement on X, formerly Twitter.
Heavy clashes broke out on Saturday morning after calm had largely prevailed overnight, an AFP correspondent in Sidon said, reporting the sound of automatic and heavy weapons.
Ain Al-Hilweh is notorious for its lawlessness and violence is not uncommon. The UN says about 55,000 people live in the camp.
Thousands of Palestinian Arabs who sought refuge from Syria's civil war have also joined the camp in recent years.
The most recent violence in Ain Al-Hilweh, that began in late July, left some 12 dead and dozens wounded. The violence caused UNRWA, the UN agency for “Palestinian refugees”, to suspend all of its services in the camp.
Lebanese residents who are registered as “Palestinian refugees” and their descendants who were born in that country reside in residential neighborhoods known as "refugee camps", have limited work options and are refused citizenship.
Lebanon refuses to naturalize the “Palestinian refugees” and has stressed the need to work for their return to their country of origin, which Palestinian Arabs claim is Israel.