Gunmen Handed Over after Clash in Mieh Mieh Camp

Two Palestinian militants were handed over to the Lebanese Army at midnight after an armed clash in the Mieh Mieh refugee camp in south Lebanon, the National News Agency said.

“Palestinian forces handed over to Lebanese Army intelligence agents the Palestinians Saleh Ghali and Samer al-Masri, who were behind the armed clash in the Mieh Mieh camp yesterday,” NNA said.

It said the handover process took place at an army checkpoint at the camp's entrance.

Al-Masri belongs to the mainstream Fatah Movement while Ghali is a member of the pro-Hizbullah Ansarullah Islamist faction.

The clash, which involved the use of machineguns and two shoulder-fired rockets, has been described as a “personal dispute” between the two men.

The camp's so-called popular committee had announced overnight that “an agreement has been reached to withdraw all gunmen from the streets,” adding that “the cover will be lifted off any person who harms the camp's security and stability.”

Senior Palestinian and Lebanese officials had carried out urgent contacts with the leaderships of the two parties in a bid to pacify the situation.