Palestinian factions hand over truckloads of weapons in Lebanon’s largest refugee camp

Palestinian factions in two refugee camps in Lebanon handed over truckloads of weapons to authorities on Saturday as part of a deal reached earlier this year to remove arms not under Lebanese state control.

The latest transfer of weapons, which has been slow since it began last month, took place in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp, the largest in Lebanon, near the southern port city of Sidon, and the Baddawi refugee camp near the northern city of Tripoli.

State-run National News Agency and a Palestinian spokesman said three trucks full of weapons from the Baddawi camp were headed to a Lebanese army barracks inside Tripoli.

The spokesman for the Palestinian National Security Forces in Lebanon, Abdul Hadi al-Assadi, said in a statement that five truckloads of weapons also were handed over at Ain al-Hilweh. He said the weapons belonged to factions that are part of the Palestine Liberation Organization.

Over the past few weeks, weapons were handed over to Lebanese troops in camps in Beirut and the southern province of Tyre.