Maqdah: Assassination of Zaidan Aims to Rattle Sidon's Security

Head of the joint Palestinian security force in Lebanon Munir al-Maqdah said on Wednesday that the assassination of Fathi Zaidan a day earlier aims to shake the city of Sidon's security and trigger conflict in the Mieh Mieh refugee camp.

“The assassination of Zaidan targets the safety of the (refugee) camps and the safety of the city of Sidon,” said al-Maqdah to the Voice of Lebanon radio (100.5).

“So far we have no information on the side responsible for the assassination,” he added.

“There are some attempts to move the conflict from Ain al-Hilweh to the camp of Mieh Mieh which is known for being a peaceful one,” he stated.

“We have meetings with the Lebanese army on a weekly basis in order to fortify the security position.”

Zaidan, a senior Palestinian official with the mainstream Fatah Movement, was killed on Tuesday in a car bombing in the southern city of Sidon.

The bombing which went off in Ain el-Hilweh injured four others, including two bodyguards.

Zaidan, who goes by the nom de guerre of Zoro, is the security official with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah group in Mieh Mieh.

Fatah gunmen have recently clashed with Islamic extremists in Ain el-Hilweh, the largest of 12 refugee camps in Lebanon.

Ain el-Hilweh has become the scene of score-settling between several factions, and a breeding ground for extremist groups that have flourished on the back of the poverty afflicting the camp.

Lebanon is home to some 400,000 Palestinians.

D.A.

G.K.