SIDON, Lebanon: Cautious calm reigned in the Palestinian refugee camp of Ain al-Hilweh, a day after the assassination of a bodyguard of a senior Fatah commander raised fears of an outbreak of violence in the camp.

Meanwhile, a senior Palestinian official told The Daily Star that the recent security incidents in the camp were messages from beyond Lebanese borders, in an apparent reference to Syria.

The Daily Star toured the site of Sunday’s violence and the camp, which is home to tens of thousands of Palestinians, was largely calm.

While vehicle and pedestrian traffic in and out of the camp and on its main street had almost returned to normal, some shop owners blocked the road with debris from their shops to protest Sunday’s clashes.

“Shame on this nation!” said Zakaria Abdul-Aziz, whose shop on Fawqani Street facing the camp’s vegetables market was damaged by gunfire.

“What is happening is a disaster ... this is the second time that my shop suffers damage and this happened for others as well,” he added. “Who is benefiting from what is happening ... who will compensate us?”

Amer Fustoq, the bodyguard of Brig. Mahmoud Issa who heads the Fatah-dominated Palestinian Armed Struggle police force in the camp, was shot dead at the vegetables market. It was the second incident of its kind in less than a week. A Lebanese civilian and four Palestinians, including a child, were wounded as well. A brief clash broke out between Fatah and Fatah al-Islam in the wake of the incident and sporadic gunfire continued to rattle throughout the camp until late Sunday.

While busy examining her belongingss in her house, which was damaged, a Palestinian woman said: “This is not acceptable. Every now and then they spark these incidents. Our houses are damaged and young people are killed.”

“We are living in horror, poverty and humiliation!” she added.

Most shops in the vegetable market were closed Monday with the exception of some street vendors.

“As you see, there is no business and the Lebanese from surrounding areas did not come in to buy their goods,” said vegetable vendor Mustafa Issa.

Abu Walid, a member of the Palestinian Armed Struggle who was watering plants near the command’s headquarters, said he didn’t expect further incidents. “The situation is calm and it is all over,” he says. Other gunmen, whose rifles were laid aside, were having tea and playing cards.

No irregular armed presence was observed in the camp and Fatah gunmen were positioned at their headquarters. Fustoq’s body was taken to Syria where he will be buried in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk where he was born.

Schools, however, remained closed and many families who fled the camp have yet to return.

A senior Palestinian official told The Daily Star that recent events in the camp are not simply security incidents. “It is a message from outside the border ... and choosing Ain al-Hilweh to send this message is natural as it is the weak belly in terms of security,” he said.

The official wondered aloud whether it was a “coincidence” that the security situation deteriorated in the camp in parallel to other security incidents such as the bombing of a UNIFIL French troops convoy earlier this month and rockets being launched toward Israel.

The situation in Ain al-Hilweh prompted the Security Council of the South to hold an urgent meeting in Sidon’s Serail under South Lebanon Governor Nicholas Bu Daher which was attended by South Lebanon Prosecutor Samih Hajj and heads of security and army bodies.

The Palestinian Follow-up Committee, which comprises Palestinian and Islamist factions in the camp, continued its meetings after successfully reaching an agreement on a cease-fire Sunday.

Sources following the committee’s discussions said that no group was held responsible for the security incidents.