STORY: New ceasefire takes effect in Palestinian refugee camp in south Lebanon
DATELINE: Sept. 16, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:27
LOCATION: Beirut
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Ain Al-Helweh Palestinian refugee camp
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): AHMAD BATAKJI, Palestinian relief officer
3. various of refugees
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): NOUHAD DIMASSI, Local resident

STORYLINE:

A ceasefire agreement was reached on Thursday in Ain Al-Helweh Palestinian camp located near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, which allowed relief workers to continue evacuating civilians who were caught in the gunfire.

This came after a day of talks initiated by Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, the local L'Orient Today news website reported.

Effective as of 6 p.m. local time (1500 GMT) on Thursday, the ceasefire immediately silenced the guns within the camp, the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Thursday evening.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which halted its operations amid the clashes, was working to evacuate civilians to its nearby schools.

SOUNDBITE 1 (Arabic): AHMAD BATAKJI, Palestinian relief officer
"The area where the civilians are heading is Sibline. We are to stay at UNRWA schools under the protection of UNRWA and we will be safe though the region is close to Ain el Heloue. We are talking about 130 families that were staying in the Sidon municipality. Gradually, we have been evacuating people in the municipality to nearby regions. Today, 73 families are being evacuated."

In the new wave of violence in the camp since Sept. 7, about 20 were killed and more than 150 were injured, according to local media.

Between July 29 and Aug. 3, clashes between members of the Palestinian Fatah movement and Islamic activists in the camp killed at least 13 people and injured dozens of others.

Lebanese civilians living in the vicinity of the camp were also affected and expressed their disgust at the ongoing clashes.

SOUNDBITE 2 (Arabic): NOUHAD DIMASSI, Local resident
"Let the Lebanese army enter and relieve us so we can stay in peace and security. We are Muslims. Where is the faith and religion? We are Muslims fighting each other. This is unacceptable. This situation must end. Israel and the U.S. are plotting to terminate us. Everything is demolished now."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beirut.
(XHTV)