Categories: World

UNRWA temporarily suspends services in Lebanon’s largest refugee camp amidst concern over armed groups

close Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for August 18

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees says it has decided to suspend all of its services in Lebanon’s largest refugee camp on Friday in protest against the presence of gunmen in its facilities.

UNRWA’s decision went into effect shortly before noon Friday at the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp near the southern port city of Sidon. Services will resume Saturday, UNRWA said.

Days of street battles took place in the camp between the Fatah group of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and two Islamic militant groups, Jund al Sham and Shabab al Muslim. The clashes broke out on July 30, after Fatah accused its rivals of shooting dead a senior Fatah military official.

The fighting killed at least 13 people, injured dozens and caused millions of dollars’ of damage in the camp, according to UNRWA officials.

OFFSHORE DRILLING RIG ARRIVES OFF COAST OF LEBANON, WILL BEGIN OPERATING IN COMING WEEKS

On June 20, 2023, within Lebanon’s southern port city of Sidon, a Palestinian woman obtains medication from a physician at a clinic overseen by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari, File)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Lebanese security forces don’t operate inside the refugee camps, where security is in the hands of Palestinian factions who often compete for clout.

UNRWA said in its statement Friday that armed fighters are still present in its facilities, including schools. It added that UNRWA reiterates its call on armed actors to immediately vacate its facilities, “to ensure unimpeded delivery of much-needed assistance to refugees.”

UNRWA said it “does not tolerate actions that breach the inviolability and neutrality of its installations.” It added that schools are unlikely to be available for 3,200 children at the start of the new school year given repeated violations and significant damage reported.

Ein el-Hilweh is home to more than 50,000 people and is the largest of 12 Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

Share

Recent Posts

Iran networks suffer losses amid airstrikes, showing digital evolution of conflicts

When missiles fly, we expect explosions. We expect smoke, sirens and satellite images. What we…

16 hours ago

Tired of websites blocking your VPN? A dedicated IP fixes that

If you have ever turned on your VPN and suddenly could not log in to…

24 hours ago

Google dropped dark web monitoring: Should you care?

Google has officially discontinued its Dark Web Report feature, a free tool that once scanned…

2 days ago

New York halts robotaxi expansion plan

New York just hit pause on expanding robotaxis beyond New York City.  Gov. Kathy Hochul…

2 days ago

What Trump’s ‘ratepayer protection pledge’ means for you

When you open a chatbot, stream a show or back up photos to the cloud,…

3 days ago

Google dismantles 9M-device Android hijack network

Free apps are supposed to cost you nothing but storage space. But in this case,…

3 days ago