Lebanon clashes: Thousands flee violence at Palestinian refugee camp

The UN says more than 2,000 people have been forced to flee violence between rival factions at a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.

The clashes between Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement and Islamist groups left 11 people dead, the UN says.

A ceasefire has now been agreed although gunfire was still being reported on Monday.

Established in 1948, the Ein el-Hilweh camp is the largest in Lebanon.

The UN says it houses more than 63,000 registered refugees, but some estimates say the population is higher.

The camp, situated near the southern city of Sidon, falls outside the jurisdiction of the Lebanese security forces.

It is left up to rival factions within the camp to maintain its security, but factional disputes are common.

The weekend's violence erupted on Saturday when a member of an Islamist group was killed, AFP news agency reports, quoting an unnamed source inside the camp.

Tensions continued to mount through to Sunday, culminating with the death of a Fatah commander, Ashraf al-Armouchi, and several of his aides.

A ceasefire agreed on Sunday soon broke down, and heavy fighting was again reported on Monday with gun and anti-tank fire echoing through the camp.

More than 40 people were injured in the clashes, including a UN aid worker, and two schools were damaged, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said.

A second ceasefire agreed on Monday after a meeting with the local MP appears to have improved the situation, although there are still reports of some gunfire.

The Palestinian presidency denounced the fighting, calling the security of the camps a "red line".

"It is not permissible for anyone to intimidate our people and tamper with their security," it said in a statement.

As well as the nine dead, Lebanese soldiers were also injured during the violence, the Lebanese army said.

The director of the UNRWA in Lebanon, Dorothee Kraus, said all the agency's operations in the camp had been suspended.

She called on "all parties to immediately return to calm and take all measures necessary to protect civilians, including children".

More than 489,000 Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, the agency says. but no more than 250,000 currently reside in the country.

Update 23 August 23: This article was amended to include an estimate of the number of Palestinian refugees residing in Lebanon.

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