Two Palestinian Authority Arabs were killed on Monday in clashes with the Lebanese army at refugee camps in the country.

AFP reported that the clashes left several people wounded, including soldiers.

The violence first broke out at the Nahr al-Bared camp near the northern coastal city of Tripoli following the funeral of a refugee who had been killed by the military on Friday, a security official told AFP.

“One Palestinian refugee was killed and seven others were wounded” by gunfire, the official said on condition of anonymity.

News of the incident raised tension in other camps across the country, including Ain al-Helweh in the south, where clashes between residents and the army also left a 20-year-old PA Arab dead and at least eight injured, a security official told AFP.

In a statement, the Lebanese army said three soldiers were injured in Nahr al-Bared.

The army said it used “tear gas and rubber bullets, and then fired live rounds at people who insisted on attacking (a military post), leading to several of the attackers being injured.”

The statement added that youths threw Molotov cocktails at the soldiers and torched an army vehicle as well as part of the military post. It blamed “infiltrators” for the unrest.

A camp resident, however, told AFP soldiers had opened fire on the youths without provocation.

The report said that troop reinforcements were also sent to Ain al- Helweh on Monday as angry residents attacked army checkpoints at two entrances to the camp with Molotov cocktails and stones.

Dozens of families fearing an escalation fled the camp, which is located near the southern coastal city of Sidon and is the largest of Lebanon´s 12 refugee camps. (IsraelNationalNews © 2012 06/19/12)