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UNRWA Suspends Services in Palestinian Refugee Camp in Lebanon after Clashes

FILE - Palestinian boys jump during a soccer training session at a school run by the agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, at Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, on June 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari, File)
FILE - Palestinian boys jump during a soccer training session at a school run by the agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, at Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, on June 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari, File)
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UNRWA Suspends Services in Palestinian Refugee Camp in Lebanon after Clashes

FILE - Palestinian boys jump during a soccer training session at a school run by the agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, at Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, on June 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari, File)
FILE - Palestinian boys jump during a soccer training session at a school run by the agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, at Ain el-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, on June 20, 2023. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari, File)

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has suspended services at the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon to protest the presence of armed fighters around its schools and other facilities within the area.

Deadly clashes broke out last month at the Ain el-Hilweh camp near the southern city of Sidon after Islamist gunmen tried to assassinate Fatah leader Mahmoud Khalil, forcing hundreds to flee.

"The Agency does not tolerate actions that breach the inviolability and neutrality of its installations,” UNRWA said in a statement.

It said that schools in the camp were unlikely to be available for 3,200 children at the start of the new school year.

"UNRWA reiterates its call on armed actors to immediately vacate its facilities, to ensure unimpeded delivery of much needed assistance to Palestine Refugees," the agency added.

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Syria Extends the Deadline for a Probe into Coastal Unrest

A man takes a picture with his mobile phone as people gather to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the chemical attack for the first time after the fall of the Assad government in the town of Douma, in the eastern Ghouta region, near the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP)
A man takes a picture with his mobile phone as people gather to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the chemical attack for the first time after the fall of the Assad government in the town of Douma, in the eastern Ghouta region, near the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP)
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Syria Extends the Deadline for a Probe into Coastal Unrest

A man takes a picture with his mobile phone as people gather to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the chemical attack for the first time after the fall of the Assad government in the town of Douma, in the eastern Ghouta region, near the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP)
A man takes a picture with his mobile phone as people gather to commemorate the seventh anniversary of the chemical attack for the first time after the fall of the Assad government in the town of Douma, in the eastern Ghouta region, near the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, Monday, April 7, 2025. (AP)

Syria’s presidency announced on Friday that it would extend a probe into the killings of Alawite civilians in coastal areas that left scores dead after clashes between government forces and armed groups loyal to former President Bashar al-Assad spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks.

The violence erupted on March 6 after Assad loyalists ambushed patrols of the new government, prompting armed groups to launch coordinated assaults on Latakia, Baniyas, and other coastal areas.

The violence brought fear of a renewed civil war and threatened to open an endless cycle of vengeance, driving thousands of Alawites to flee their homes, with an estimated 30,000 seeking refuge in northern Lebanon.

On March 9, interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa formed a fact-finding committee and gave it 30 days to report its findings and identify perpetrators. In a decree published late Thursday, Sharaa said the committee had requested more time and was granted a three-month non-renewable extension.

The committee’s spokesperson, Yasser Farhan, said in a statement on Friday that the committee has recorded 41 sites where killings took place, each forming the basis for a separate case and requiring more time to gather evidence. He said some areas remained inaccessible due to time constraints, but that residents had cooperated, despite threats from pro-Assad remnants.

In a report published on April 3, Amnesty International said its probe into the killings concluded that at least 32 of more than 100 people killed in the town of Baniyas were deliberately targeted on sectarian grounds — a potential war crime.

The rights organization welcomed the committee’s formation but stressed it must be independent, properly resourced, and granted full access to burial sites and witnesses to conduct a credible investigation. It also said the committee should be granted “adequate time to complete the investigation.”