Lebanon: Reports on the various Palestinian armed guerilla groups operating in the al-Baddawi Refugee Camp and forcible recruitment of people living in these camps by these groups (1998-2001)
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 16 November 2001 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | LBN37877.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Lebanon: Reports on the various Palestinian armed guerilla groups operating in the al-Baddawi Refugee Camp and forcible recruitment of people living in these camps by these groups (1998-2001), 16 November 2001, LBN37877.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3df4be5b31.html [accessed 31 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
No list of Palestinian armed guerilla groups active in the al-Baddawi refugee camp in northern Lebanon could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.
An April 2000 Middle East Intelligence Bulletin (MEIB) states that Palestinian groups in Lebanon were preparing for eventual fighting with Israel in anticipation of the Israeli forces from southern Lebanon. The report also quotes Colonel Munir al Maqdah, a commander of the Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command (PFLP-GC), who said on 8 April 2000 that "tens of volunteers from all Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon have come for training and attacks on Israel." According to the report, on 16 April 2000 50 PFLP-GC armed guerillas demonstrated in the al-Baddawi refugee camp.
On 1 April 1999 a clash between members of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP) and members of another Palestinian group left one Palestinian dead in the al-Baddawi refugee camp (Arabic News 1 Apr. 1999; al-Sharq al-Awsat 2 Apr. 1999; al-Dustur 11 Apr. 1999). The following Palestinian organizations were represented on the committee to investigate the incident: the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (FPLP), the FPLP-GC, the DFLP, the al-Sa'iqah and the fatah al-Intifadah (al Sharq al-Awsat 2 Apr. 1999).
A 1 June 2000 paper on Palestinian refugees in Lebanon reprinted by The International Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism (ICT) states that although Fatah Arafat loyalists were partially successful in their attempts to reaffirm their leadership in Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, these gains were "partly offset" by the rising influence of various Islamic groups such as "the Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ),and several smaller and more extremist groups aligned with the Hezbollah," namely the Usbat al-Ansar and the al-Jamal Islamiya (Brackman).
No information on whether Palestinian armed guerilla groups were forcibly recruiting in the Baddawi refugee camp could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate. However, the ICT paper states that the Hamas and the Hezbollah have collaborated in recruiting members in the Lebanese refugee camps.
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.
References
Al Shark al-Awsat [London, in Arabic]. 2 April 1999. "Palestinian Factions clash in North Lebanon." (FBIS-NES-1999-0402 2 Apr. 1999/WNC
Arabic News. 1 April 1999. "Palestinian Refugees Clash in Lebanon."
Al-Dustur [Amman, in Arabic]. 11 April 1999. "DFLP Leader on PLO Factional Feuds." (FBIS-NES-1999-0413 11 Apr. 1999/WNC)
Brackman, Nicole. 1 June 2000. "Palestinian Refugees in Lebanon: A New Source of Cross-Border Tension?" The International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism (ITC). Originally in the Washington Institute's Peacewatch, Special Reports on Arab-Israeli Peace Process, 30 May 2000, No. 3.
Middle East Intelligence Bulletin (MEIB). April 2000. "Palestinians in Lebanon Prepare to Resume Armed Struggle."
Additional Sources Consulted
Arabies
Les Cahiers de l'Orient
The Middle-East
IBR databases
Jane's Geopolitical Library. October 2001
LEXIS/NEXIS
Internet sites including:
Amnesty International
The Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies
Centre for Lebanese Studies [Oxford]
The Dayan Centre for Middle Eastern Studies
Human Rights Watch (HRW)
Le Monde Diplomatique [Paris]
Terrorist Group Profiles
The Washington Report on the Midde-East
Two oral sources could not provide the requested information within the research time limits.
