SIDON: Palestinian refugees in south Lebanon staged a sit-in at which they set the U.N. flag alight Wednesday in protest at what they say are corrupt practices at UNRWA.
Hundreds of Palestinian protestors staged a sit-in at the entrance to Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp near the southern port city of Tyre, accusing the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) of “involvement in projects targeting refugees in Lebanon.”
The demonstrators blocked Ain al-Hilweh’s main road with burning tires and dumpsters.
They waved banners that read: “No to UNRWA’s corrupt policy,” and “No to UNRWA’s conspiratorial policies.” Another placard said: “People want medical care and medication.”
A statement issued by the protesters accused UNRWA and the head of the U.N. organization in Lebanon of “being transformed into a ‘black operations room’ to run a suspicious project and to implement international schemes targeting refugees in Lebanon.”
The military commander in Ain al-Hilweh, Munir Maqdah, who was monitoring the sit-in from his base, also accused UNRWA of bringing 43 “foreign” staff to Lebanon “with a mission that does not serve the Palestinian people.”