Deadly Clashes Break out in Palestinian Camp in Lebanon
Several people were killed after clashes broke out between factions in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon.
Fighting erupted in Ain el-Hilweh on Aug. 17 between the Islamist Badr group and a joint security force that includes the Fatah group. Among the dead were the son of Badr leader Bilal Arqoub and a Fatah camp official, Lebanon’s Daily Star newspaper reported.
The violence continued despite efforts to reach a cease-fire and caused dozens of people to flee the area, Reuters said. A spate of fighting between the groups in April left at least seven people dead.
Police Evict Paris Migrant Camp for Second Time in Two Months
Police evicted a makeshift migrant camp in northern Paris for the second time in two months.
Several hundred officers removed around 2,500 people sleeping on the streets in La Chapelle, many waiting to get access to an overcrowded official reception center in the area.
Officials said the asylum seekers would be moved into gymnasiums around Paris and receptions centers outside the city.
Some 2,700 people were evicted from the same area in July. The evictions show “that the Parisian system has some dysfunctions,” Interior Minister Gerard Collomb acknowledged.
Australian High Court Rules Offshore Refugee Camp is Legal
Australia’s High Court ruled that the country’s offshore detention policy is valid, despite Papua New Guinea’s 2016 ruling that the camps are unconstitutional.
The case, among several legal challenges to the policy, was brought by an Iranian asylum seeker held in an Australia-run camp on PNG’s Manus Island since 2013. The camp is slated for closure in October under the PNG court’s ruling.
Yet the Australian High Court ruled that the offshore detention camp is legal and that the Australian government is not constitutionally required to conform to another country’s domestic laws.
Some 1,250 asylum seekers who tried to reach Australia by boat are stuck on Manus and the Pacific island of Nauru awaiting the promised closure of the Australian camps and uncertain prospects of resettlement in the U.S. under an Obama-era deal.
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