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15 Pro-Yasser Palos Wounded in Ein El-Hellhole
Attackers hurled a hand grenade and fired rifles at pro-Yasser Arafat demonstrators in this Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, injuring 15 people, a Palestinian official said Friday. Ah, the fabled Palestinian solidarity. Col. Khaled Aref, a senior official of Arafatâs Fatah faction, said three of those injured during a Thursday night march in support of the besieged Palestinian leader were critically wounded. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but Aref blamed it on a rival Muslim group that had previously fought with Arafat loyalists. About 400 people took to Ein El-Hilwehâs narrow alleyways in southern Lebanon upon hearing of Israelâs threats to expel Arafat from his West Bank headquarters. "With our soul, with our blood we redeem you Oh Arafat," the protesters chanted. When the crowd reached the campâs Safsaf neighborhood, a hotbed of Palestinian Muslim extremists, attackers threw a hand grenade and fired automatic rifles at them. "Stop that chanting, Iâm trying to sleep, Dammit!" The crowd dispersed after the attack. " Early Friday, the situation was tense with armed Muslim militants on Safsaf street corners and gun-toting Arafat loyalists outside their offices throughout the camp. Sounds like any other normal day in El-Hellhole. Ein El-Hilweh, on the outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon, has been the scene of frequent bombings, assassinations and shootings involving Palestinian factions vying for the campâs control. Thatâs why we call it Ein El-Hellhole. Lebanese troops man checkpoints outside the camp, but do not enter. "Are you nuts, I ainât going in there." Aref blamed Thursdayâs attack on followers of Muslim militant leader Abdullah Shreidi, who died in July from wounds sustained in a May assassination attempt. A long slow painfull death, I might add. Shreidi led the extremist Usbat al-Nour faction, an Islamic fundamentalist group that split from the radical Usbat al-Ansar group, which is on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations. His shooting in May sparked fighting between supporters and Arafat loyalists, killing eight people and wounding about 30 others.
Posted by: Steve 2003-09-12 |
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