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Palestinians continue to suffer as Yarmouk fighting intensifies
The fighting between Palestinian fighters plus Syrian government forces against ISIS in the Yarmouk suburb of Syria’s capital Damascus intensified yesterday, as reports of desperation among the area’s Palestinian residents continue.
Yarmouk was home to an estimated 200,000 people before the Syrian Civil War broke out in 2011. Most residents are Palestinians who were displaced during Israel’s 1948 War of Independence and their descendants. However, opposition groups have used Yarmouk as a base to attack the heart of President Assad’s regime in Damascus and a severe siege has seen all but 18,000 residents flee, many having suffered from starvation.
Last week, the situation was compounded by ISIS fighters taking control of an estimated 90 per cent of Yarmouk, reportedly as part of a rare joint advance with fighters from the Al-Qaeda affiliate, Al-Nusra Front. A selection of Palestinian groups in Yarmouk are thought to have taken up the fight against ISIS, who have carried out a number of trademark beheadings in response.
The Times reports this morning that not only has the fighting intensified on the ground in Yarmouk, but that Syrian government warplanes yesterday dropped at least 8 barrel bombs on the area, compounding the dangers faced by locals. Earlier this week, Pierre Krahenbuhl, head of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), briefed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the 15-member Security Council on the situation in Yarmouk, calling it “beyond inhumane.” He added, “What the civilians in Yarmouk are most concerned about right now is bare survival. It’s as simple and straightforward as that.” Save The Children estimates that 3,500 young people are trapped in Yarmouk.
Meanwhile, Haaretz reports that Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas is attempting to secure aid and safe passage for Yarmouk residents with the help of Arab countries and international aid agencies. The same report suggests that armed Palestinian groups in Lebanon, including those affiliated with Hamas, have entered the fight against ISIS in Yarmouk.