A Fatah fighter involved in recent clashes at Lebanon's largest refugee camp has been shot dead in his home, Palestinian sources said today.
They said unknown assailants opened fire on the man after breaking into his home in the southern Ain el-Hilweh refugee camp in the early hours of the morning.
The man belonged to a faction of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat's Fatah movement, which clashed with militant Islamists in the camp last month.
Seven people were killed in that fighting, which analysts said amounted to a battle for control of the camp.
Palestinian security forces fanned out in Ain el-Hilweh today, amid fears the killing might spark a new bout of fighting. But residents said tensions had begun to ease.
Palestinians estimate up to 70,000 refugees live in tumbledown shacks in the one square kilometre Ain el-Hilweh camp.
Lebanese authorities do not enter the camp, site of a string of tit-for-tat bombings and gunbattles, where Islamists and fugitives from justice have taken up residence.