Syria War: IS repelled from parts of Syria's Yarmouk: PLO/UN Security Council Demands Access

IS repelled from parts of Syria's Yarmouk: PLO/UN Security Council Demands Access
#SyriaWar

Tuesday 7 April 2015 11:33 BST
Last update:
Tuesday 7 April 2015 12:39 BST

The UN Security Council has demanded humanitarian access to the Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees

The Yarmouk camp – Syria's largest Palestinian refugee camp, which hosts 18,000 Palestinian refugees as well as Syrian residents – is located on Damascus' outskirts.

Violence flared in the camp earlier this month, when IS militants stormed it and clashed with the Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis militant group inside.

According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, at least 12 people have been killed in the violence.

Around 166 Palestinian refugees starved to death in mid-2013 when Syrian government forces besieged the camp.

Prior to the Syrian conflict, Palestinians living in Syria were estimated at some 581,000 – one third of whom had been living in the Yarmouk camp, according to the UN.

UN Security Council demands access to Yarmouk

Meanwhile, the UN Security Council on Monday demanded humanitarian access to the Yarmouk refugee camp.

"The members call for the protection of civilians in the camp (and) for ensuring humanitarian access to the area, including by providing life-saving assistance and ensuring the safe passage and evacuation of civilians," Jordan's UN ambassador Dina Kawar, who chairs the 15-member Security Council, told reporters after a meeting on the issue.

It also stood ready to consider "further measures to provide necessary assistance," she added, without providing details.




http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/repelled-parts-syrias-yarmouk-says-plo-2103136281