Conflict Incident Report

The Lebanese Army deployed heavily on the outskirts of a north Lebanon Palestinian camp after an exchange of fire on its premises.

Local media reported that a shooting erupted between the Palestinian security force in the camp and an armed group.

A group from the al-Shaabi family reportedly opened fire at Abu Adnan Oudeh, secretary of the Palestinian security force and a Palestinian Liberation Organization official, but missed him, said the National News Agency.

The Palestinian command at the camp gave the Shaabi gunmen an ultimatum until 12 a.m. to turn themselves in to Lebanese authorities,Voice of Lebanon radio (93.3) reported.

Mohammad al-Shaabi had reportedly opened fire in the camp on Wednesday to provoke the Lebanese Army, which was carrying out raids in Wadi al-Nahleh, near the camp.

A security source had told The Daily Star that the army raids were in search of Lebanese national Ibrahim Obeid, who is also reportedly known as Ibrahim al-Shaabi Abu Ahmad.

Obeid’s mother is from the Beddawi camp, the source said, adding that Obeid had been released from prison some time ago and was connected to a known drug traders.

Palestinian factions at the camp vowed to maintain calm after they handed four people over to the Lebanese Army Monday.

The four detained men were suspected of being connected to clashes that erupted between a Palestinian security force in the camp and a local group of drug dealers.

There are more than 16,500 registered refugees in Beddawi, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency. This is in addition to thousands of others who were displaced to the camp from the nearby Nahr al-Bared camp in 2007 following clashes between the Lebanese Army and Fatah al-Islam, as well as Palestinian refugees who have arrived from Syria.

The latest events in Beddawi came weeks after clashes subsided in south Lebanon’s restive Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, which has regularly been a site of disputes and security-related incidents.