Posted on 05/19/2003 9:32:26 AM PDT by knighthawk
2 die in fatah attempt to assassinate esbat al-nour leader
Life was slowly returning to normal Sunday at the Ain al-Hilweh Palestinian refugee camp following the attempted murder of Abdullah Shridi, leader of Esbat al-Nour, by the Fatah organization.
Shridi and some of his aides had fallen into an ambush by the Fatah group Saturday, which led to the death of two people and the wounding of two of Shridi’s followers.
Shridi, who was earlier reported as dead or dying, survived the incident. He was initially taken to a makeshift hospital within the camp, but had to be transferred after he was surrounded again by armed men from Fatah, the largest single armed group within the camp.
He was smuggled out of the hospital from a hole made in its outside wall.
The decision to kill Shridi was made in occupied Palestine and the official order to liquidate Shridi had come from there, security sources said.
Shridi and his party had been ambushed by unknown armed men at 5.50pm Saturday while he and his followers were returning from a funeral in the neighboring locality of Darb al-Sim, south of the camp. The funeral was that of Palestinian Ibrahim Shridi, who had also been slain by unknown gunmen.
When the vehicle in which Shridi was traveling reached a turning south of the camp, the gunmen opened fire with automatic weapons.
Shridi was hit and transported under dangerous conditions to the Human Call Foundation Medical Center, run by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).
He was in bad condition when he reached the hospital. His right-hand man, Wissam Tohaibish, was also gravely wounded in the shooting. Shridi’s uncle on his father’s side, Yehia Shridi, was killed in the shooting, together with another of Abdullah Shridi’s aides, Fakhr Shridi.
Immediately after the shooting, a state of high tension and uncertainty dominated the camp resulting from the pervasive presence of armed men.
By nightfall, the situation had developed into an armed confrontation, however there were no reported casualties.
Later in the evening there were conflicting reports about Abdullah Shridi’s fate, but it soon became apparent that reports of his death were false.
Sources told The Daily Star he had been hit in the shoulder, the chest and a kidney, and that when he reached the hospital he was hemorrhaging, which eventually led to the removal of the damaged kidney.
It was reported that Shridi refused to leave the camp and said “give me any treatment you are capable of inside the camp. I do not want to be taken out.”
By night-time, the Fatah movement was on full alert with armed men surrounding the hospital. They were about to storm the hospital to arrest Shridi and his armed followers when a gun battle erupted.
Tense negotiations with the PFLP and some Islamic groups prevented the Fatah men from storming the hospital.
Other interventions were also made by the imam of the Sidon-based Al-Quds mosque, Sheikh Maher Hammoud moves that led to a cease-fire by midnight after providing for the withdrawal of the Fatah gunmen and the positioning of PFLP men around the hospital.
Abdullah Shridi was relocated at dawn to an unknown location, which was presumed later to be in the Safsaf area, his former stronghold.
Shridi’s condition was described as unstable and in need of intensive care. It was believed that the next 48 hours would determine whether he lived or died.
Meanwhile, the armed Fatah men are still on high alert and in their trenches while Shridi’s armed men are also taking up positions in the Safsaf area.
But the Fatah movement has made up its mind to liquidate Shridi come what may, as a written statement from Fatah’s leader in Lebanon, Sultan Abu Aynayn, said.
Informed sources also said that the Fatah decision to liquidate Shridi was a brave one and that Fatah had taken a long time in its issuance.
Abdullah Shridi’s father, Hisham Shridi, founded Esbat al-Ansar in the 1990s. Abdullah was around 10 years old when his father, Hisham, was killed by gunmen.
The young man decided to avenge the killing of his father and was involved in several armed attacks. He is also wanted on several counts by the Lebanese authorities.
Only two months ago, Abdullah Shridi killed his own cousin, Nazih Shridi.
Abdullah had by this time left the ranks of Esbat al-Ansar which, after the death of his father, was led by Abdel-Karim Saadi, better known as Abu Mohjen, also wanted by the Lebanese authorities.
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