'Homes beyond repair': Clashes in Palestinian refugee camp

Fierce clashes in Lebanon’s Palestinian refugee camp Ain al-Hilweh has left scores of buildings riddled with bullet holes and rendered numerous homes completely uninhabitable, residents say, as photos depicting the breadth of destruction have begun to circulate on social media.

Nine people were confirmed to have died, while at least 104 others were reported wounded amid armed fighting that began on April 7 and lasted for nearly a week, between gunmen affiliated to an Islamist group led by Bilal Badr and a newly deployed joint Palestinian security force charged with expelling Badr and his supporters from the camp.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) was forced to suspend its services in Ain al-HIlweh, as residents were displaced fleeing the violence. UNRWA administers eight schools and two clinics in the camp.

UNRWA spokesperson Christopher Gunness said last Wednesday that some 100 houses and 75 shops were damaged or destroyed, noting the numbers awaited verification until UNRWA crews could gain access the camp. UNRWA health clinics reopened Friday, as security conditions finally began to stabilise.