Clashes continue in Palestinian camp in Lebanon as death toll rises to 9

BY ABBY SEWELL AND FADI TAWIL

SIDON, Lebanon (AP) — The death toll rose to nine Monday in three days of clashes between Palestinian factions at a refugee camp in Lebanon that have pitted members of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party against Islamist groups.

A Lebanese lawmaker announced a cease-fire agreement late Monday but some gunfire continued afterward, and earlier efforts to broker a cease-fire had failed to stop the shooting and shelling through the narrow streets of the Ein el-Hilweh camp in southern Lebanon.

The violence began Saturday when an unknown gunman tried to kill Palestinian militant Mahmoud Khalil but instead fatally shot his companion. Full-blown clashes erupted Sunday when Islamic militants shot and killed a Palestinian military general from the Fatah group, Abu Ashraf al Armoushi, and three escorts as they were walking through a parking lot, according to a Palestinian official. The official spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media.

On Monday afternoon, after a meeting between Lebanese officials and security forces and Palestinian factions, Lebanese lawmaker Osama Saad, who represents the Sidon area where the camp is located, announced a new ceasefire agreement.Associated Press