03 May 2006
SIDON: The family of Abu Omra al-Aswad, who was seriously injured during clashes in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp Monday, announced that the perpetrator should be punished, otherwise, "[the family] will seek its own revenge."
Aswad was seriously wounded during a gun-battle that broke out after Jund al- Sham gunmen tried to assassinate Mahmoud Abdel-Hamid Issa, Aswad's cousin and a Fatah military official, as he walked with his bodyguards.
A bystander, 20-year old Mohammad Tayssir Awad, was hit by a stray bullet and died instantly.
The two sides resumed fighting in late afternoon after Jund al-Sham rejected Fatah's demand to hand over the gunman who fired at Issa, a source in the camp said.
The sources also said Jund al-Sham member Jamal Rumeit was wounded in the stomach.
According to witnesses, the shooter fled to an area west of the camp, known as the "railway neighborhood."
The Palestinian Armed Struggle, a security police force inside the camp, was put on alert while Lebanese Army military vehicles patrolled the area.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Follow-Up Committee convened and spent three hours deliberating before releasing a statement in which the members agreed on the importance of apprehending the gunman.
Fatah members, led by the movement's general supervisor in Lebanon, Colonel Munir Maqdah, prepared to launch an attack on the stronghold of Jund al-Sham as they waited for the results of the meeting.
Fatah's official in Lebanon Colonel Khaled Aref described Jund al-Sham members as "trouble makers," and accused them of bringing strife from the neighboring Taamir area to Ain al-Hilweh.
Jund al-Sham finally handed the perpetrator over to the Palestinian Follow-Up Committee following several hours of negotiations.
Maqdah told The Daily Star that his troops entered Jund al-Sham's stronghold, but did not find anyone, adding that the shooter will be interrogated to determine whether his act was premeditated or casual before any measures are taken.
United Nations Refugee Welfare Association schools remained closed Tuesday as many Palestinians moved out of the vicinity of Jund al-Sham's headquarters for fear of more clashes.
"Who is responsible for the security of the camp?" said the owner of a car repair shop, who asked not to be identified. "If no one is, then the Lebanese government should interfere and deploy the Lebanese Army."
The last episode of clashes occurred in October 2005, when gunfire broke out in Taamir, near the camp, leaving one man dead and four injured.
The incident caused camp residents to increase their calls for the deployment of the Lebanese Army to fill the security vacuum and protect the lives of citizens.
Prayers for Aswad were held at the Salaheddine Mosque before he was buried in the Darb as-Sim cemetery inside the camp.
On Tuesday, the head of the parliamentary Future bloc, MP Saad Hariri, received a delegation from Hamas led by the movement's representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamdan.
Hamdan said discussions focused on dealing with the status of Palestinian camps on a political and humanitarian level rather than the issue of arms outside the camps.
He stressed that all matters pertaining to security must be discussed through open and clear dialogue as "we need to serve Palestinian and Lebanese higher interests."
