Conflict Incident Report

Clashes erupted in the southern Lebanon Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, a security source told The Daily Star. Islamists and Fatah Movement supporters in the Baraksat and Safsaf neighborhoods were involved in the gun battle. The Lebanese Army, deployed on the entrances of the camp, went on high alert. A Palestinian source told The Daily Star that the armed clashes began after a girl was verbally harassed as she passed by the Safsaf neighborhood, a stronghold for Islamists. The girl's brother, from the Baraksat neighborhood, opened fire at the Safsaf neighborhood, prompting the Islamists to respond to the source of fire. One man was injured by the sporadic gunfire. Islamist faction Osbat al-Ansar said that "its supporters managed to restore calm in Safsaf neighborhood." “Osbat al-Ansar has prevented a security escalation and a deterioration of the conditions in the camp,” a statement issued by the group said. The clashes coincide with the arrival of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Lebanon on a three-day official visit. The joint Palestinian security force in south Lebanon’s Ain al-Hilweh camp was dissolved.