[Al Arabiya Latest] Clashes broke out briefly in eastern Lebanon on Thursday when a dispute between members of a Syrian-backed Palestinian faction escalated into violence, the army said. "Preliminary information indicates that the fight was a result of an internal disagreement," an army spokesman told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity.A Palestinian official said automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades were fired during the clashes, which broke out at the Liberation of Palestine - General Command (PFLP-GC) group's Ain al-Bayda base near the town of Kfar Zabad in the Bekaa Valley.
One person was injured in the clashes which quickly died down, the Palestinian official added. PFLP-GC commanders were unreachable. "The situation is calm now," the army spokesman said Thursday afternoon, adding that an officer and three other members of the PFLP-GC had turned themselves in to the army.
The PFLP-GC, led by Ahmad Jibril, was founded with Syrian backing during the 1975-1990 Lebanese civil war. Along with Palestinian group Fatah al-Intifada, Jibril's movement has bases in the Bekaa near the Syrian border. The PFLP-GC also has a base in Nehmeh, south of the capital Beirut.
Unlike most Palestinian factions in Lebanon, which are located inside the country's 12 refugee camps and remain loyal to Gaza or the West Bank, Fatah al-Intifada and the PFLP-GC continue to be backed by Damascus.
The two movements' arsenal remains a thorny issue between Lebanon and its powerful neighbor. In January a leader of Fatah al-Intifada said his group would not disarm outside of the camps but was willing to discuss where in Lebanon it holds its arms. The Lebanese government has called for Palestinian groups outside refugee camps to disarm, saying the issue was not up for negotiation.