Fierce battles broke out in Ein el-Hilweh on Sunday between forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party and Islamist groups Jund al Sham and Shabab al Muslim. Fatah accused the Islamists of shooting dead General Abu Ashraf al-Armoushi in the camp.
The clashes left at least 13 dead, dozens injured and thousands displaced in the camp, which is home to more than 50,000 people.
Although an uncertain calm has reigned for two days, staff from the United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Middle East (UNRWA) have not been able to access the camp to assess the damage or offer services.
Dorothee Klaus, UNRWA’s director in Lebanon, told The Associated Press that a fortified compound of four UNRWA schools “was stormed by militants and unfortunately used as a starting point for the battle.”
It transpired that the militiamen shot Armoushi from inside the school compound.
In the fighting, schools suffered “significant damage,” Klaus noted. “The school year for 6,000 children … could be delayed until we make the necessary repairs.” The UNRWA school year was to start in the first week of October, at the same time as the Lebanese schools.
This week’s clashes were not the first in camp. That’s why, Klaus said, the school complex was fortified “to make sure that … when there’s fighting outside during school hours, (children) are safe.” But lately they have used it as a fortress, he added.
FOUNTAIN: Associated Press
