Palestinian camps in Lebanon to start disarming today

Armed Palestinian groups in Lebanese refugee camps will start handing over their weapons to the authorities on Thursday, a joint committee said, following a deal reached in May.

"Today marks the beginning of the first phase of the process of handing over weapons from inside the Palestinian camps," Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee chairman Ramez Dimashkieh said in a statement.

The process would begin with the Burj al-Barajneh camp in Beirut, where an initial batch of weapons would be delivered and placed in the custody of the Lebanese Army, he added.

Al-Jadeed TV reported earlier in the day that "the removal of Palestinian arms is supposed to begin this evening from the Burj al-Barajneh and al-Bass camps."

Surrounded by gunmen, Palestinian officials at the Bourj al-Barajneh camp later told Al-Jadeed's reporter during a live broadcast that "the arms that will be handed over today had entered the camp two days ago and belong to an official who defected from the Fatah Movement."