BEIRUT, February 28, 2017 (WAFA) – Palestinian political factions meeting in Beirut Tuesday called for an end to the armed fighting in Ein al-Hilweh refugee camp in Lebanon and established a committee to make sure a ceasefire will be honored.

Meeting at the Palestine embassy in Beirut, the factions condemned the ongoing armed fighting in the refugee camp and called for an immediate ceasefire to be observed by all armed groups.

The fighting, which started last week between armed groups, left a number of people injured.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) strongly condemned the ongoing armed violence In the camp, which it said impact the civilian population in the camp, including children, and decided to suspend all operations for two days.

“There are reports of injuries to civilians and damage to shelters as a result of the weekend‘s clashes. An UNRWA installation is reported as sustaining minor damage and the unauthorized entry of armed actors into one UNRWA school was reported,” UNRWA spokesman Sami Mshasha said from Jerusalem.

As a result of the clashes, UNRWA suspended Monday and Tuesday all services in the camp and had earlier closed two UNRWA facilities for health and relief services due to the clashes.

“UNRWA will continue to assess the security situation to ensure that services can be resumed as soon as possible considering the need to ensure the safety and security of the Agency’s personnel and beneficiaries,” said Mshasha.

“As a humanitarian organization we are significantly concerned about the impact that ongoing armed violence in Ein El-Hilweh has on beneficiaries and on safe access to UNRWA services, including schools and vital health services,” he added.

UNRWA urged all armed groups “to respect the inviolability and neutrality of UNRWA premises in accordance with international law and to take all measures necessary to ensure the safety of civilians, including UNRWA staff.“

M.K.