At least two Palestinians were killed and seven others wounded on Tuesday when gunmen attacked strongholds of a Palestinian faction in Lebanon's largest refugee camp, witnesses said.
They said the attackers sprayed automatic weapons fire and threw grenades at positions controlled by Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, one of a host of armed Palestinian groups that effectively run the camp near the southern port city of Sidon.
According to Reuters, Fatah officials said the gunfire came from an area of the camp inhabited by Lebanese Islamist groups that have clashed with Palestinian factions in the camp over their role in turning a suspected militant over to the Lebanese authorities last month.
Lebanese security officials said the two sides used rocket propelled grenades and machine guns.
Fatah and other Palestinian groups which helped broker the detention of Badie Hamadeh, a Lebanese man accused of killing three security agents during an attempt to arrest him, have been the targets of bombings and shootings in the camp in recent weeks.
Lebanese authorities guard Ein el-Hilweh's gates but do not enter the camp, where several Palestinians wanted by police are believed to be hiding. (Albawaba.com)
© 2002 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
