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Post by pieter on Apr 4, 2015 15:39:16 GMT -7
The suffering of the Palestinians in Syria, in Iraq, in Gaza and in Lebanese camps is incredible.
They are left alone to starve, being shelled and bombed, ans shot at by snipers in the Yarmouk refugee Camp.
The world is silent and does nothing. And now the camp is conquered by ISIL and the Al Nusra Front.
The suffering of the Palestinians in the Yarmouk refugee Camp continues!
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Post by pieter on Apr 4, 2015 16:03:01 GMT -7
Yarmouk Camp Residents of the besieged Palestinian camp of Yarmouk, queuing to receive food supplies, in Damascus, Syria Photo: APYarmouk Camp (Arabic: مخيم اليرموك) is a 2.11-square-kilometre (0.81 sq mi) district of the city of Damascus, populated by Palestinians, with hospitals and schools. It is located 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) from the center of Damascus and inside the municipal boundaries but when established in 1957, it was outside the surrounding city. Yarmouk is an " unofficial" refugee camp; it is home to the largest Palestinian refugee community in Syria. As of June 2002, there were 112,550 registered refugees living in Yarmouk. During the Syrian Civil War, Yarmouk camp became the scene of intense fighting between the Free Syrian Army and the PFLP-GC supported by the Syrian Army government forces.  An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube on 17 December 2012, allegedly shows bodies strewn on the ground of a mosque following an air strike by the Syrian military on the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus one day earlier. (Photo: AFP / YouTube)OverviewYarmouk was established in 1957 on an area of 2.11 square kilometres (0.81 sq mi) to accommodate refugees who were squatters. Though it is not officially recognized as a refugee camp, road signs leading to this sector of the city read " Mukhayyam al-Yarmouk", meaning " Yarmouk camp". Administratively, Yarmouk is a city ( madina) in the Damascus Governorate. Over time, refugees living in Yarmouk have improved and expanded their residences. Currently, the district is densely populated, with cement block homes and narrow streets. Two main roads are lined with shops and filled with service taxis and microbuses that run through the camp. According to the BBC, although Yarmouk " is identified as a camp, there are no tents or slums in sight. It is a residential area with beauty salons and internet cafes".  Living conditions in Yarmouk appear to be better than in Palestinian refugee camps in Syria and residents of the camp are made up of many professionals, such as doctors, engineers and civil servants, as well as many who are employed as casual laborers and street vendors. There are four hospitals and a number of government-run secondary schools. UNRWA operates 20 elementary schools and eight preparatory schools in the camp and sponsors two women's program centers. There are three UNRWA health care centers in Yarmouk, two of which received upgrades in 1996 with contributions from the government of Canada. In 1997, six schools were upgraded with contributions from the government of the United States, and a kindergarten was built with funds from the government of Australia. In 1998, the UNRWA was also able to construct a health center funded by the government of the Netherlands. There is another Health Center whose expertise is devoted to prevention and treatment of thalassemia. The Center was built in 2009 thanks to funds provided by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation ( AECID).  Palestinian Baby Israa al-Masri died of a hunger-related illness on January 11, 2014 in the Yarmouk camp [AP] Dying old Palestinian man in the Yarmouk Camp in DamascusDuring the Syrian Civil War, Yarmouk camp became the scene of intense fighting between the Western backed rebel Free Syrian Army and its Palestinian ally Liwa al-Asifa on one hand and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command ( PFLP-GC) supported by Syrian Army government forces on the other. Subsequently the Syrian Army has besieged the camp, leading to many leaving the area and a significant deterioration in conditions for the more than 18,000 Palestinian refugees and other Syrians remaining inside the camp, whom the UN describes as living in " complete deprivation".  A fighter of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC) mans a weapon as he stands behind sandbags in the Yarmouk refugee camp in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, following fighting against rebels forces who control 75 per cent of the camp. At the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the PFLP-GC was an ally of the Ba'ath Party government of Syria. The PFLP-GC was based in Yarmouk Camp – a district of Damascus that is home to the biggest community of Palestinian refugees in Syria. Several members of the PFLP-GC's central committee opposed this alliance with the Assad government and resigned in protest. During the war, it helped the Syrian Army to fight the Syrian rebels in and around Yarmouk. At the beginning of the war, tensions arose in Yarmouk between the PFLP-GC and anti-government Palestinian residents. On 5 June 2011, a number of Yarmouk residents were shot dead while protesting at the Israeli border. Allegedly angered by the PFLP-GC's refusal to take part in the protests, thousands of mourners burnt-down its headquarters in Yarmouk. PFLP-GC members opened-fire on the crowd, killing 14 Palestinians and wounding 43. On 3 August 2012, 21 civilians were killed when the Syrian Army shelled Yarmouk. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas condemned the Syrian Army for shelling the camp and chided the PFLP-GC for dragging Palestinians into the conflict. On 5 December 2012, fighting erupted in Yarmouk between the Syrian Army and PFLP-GC on one side, and Syrian rebels on the other. The rebels included the Free Syrian Army ( FSA) and a group made up of Palestinians, called Liwa al-Asifa or Storm Brigade. By 17 December, the rebels had won control of Yarmouk. Afterwards, Government and rebel representatives agreed that all armed groups should withdraw from Yarmouk and leave it as a neutral zone. The agreement also said that the PFLP-GC should be dismantled and its weapons surrendered. However, a spokesman for the pro-rebel Palestine Refugee Camp Network said, " the implementation of the truce has been problematic" because of " intermittent" government shelling of Yarmouk and clashes on its outskirts. Many PFLP-GC fighters reportedly defected to the rebels. One PFLP-GC commander said " I felt that we became soldiers for the Assad regime, not guards for the camps, so I decided to defect". He claimed that government forces stood by and watched as the PFLP-GC fought the rebels, without helping the Palestinians. Ahmed Jibril reportedly fled Damascus for the Mediterranean city of Tartous. Palestinian left-wing groups—including the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine ( PFLP), the biggest Palestinian leftist group— berated Jibril and the PFLP-GC. One PFLP official said " Everyone knows the true size of PFLP-GC. They are not representative of the Palestinians". Another said that Jibril " does not even belong to the Palestinian Left. He is closer to the extremist right-wing groups than to revolutionary leftist ones". On 18 December, the Palestinian National Council ( PNC) denounced Jibril, saying it would expel him over his role in the conflict.  PFLP-GC flagOn 1 April 2015, Islamic State rebels entered the camp from the Hajar al-Aswad district, sparking clashes with Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis and the Free Syrian Army. Islamic State initially took over much of the camp, but was later pushed back from some areas, before regaining control. On April 2, it was reported that Islamic State was in control of the entirety of the Yarmouk camp and was handing out bread to refugees. Later reports confirm that Palestinian fighters along with local rebels managed to push Islamic State rebels out of Yarmouk. New reports hower state that Yarmouk is in the hands of the Islamic State ( Deash/ ISISL) and the Al Nusra Front, after they won battles with Palestinian fractions which opposed them.  Residents of the besieged Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp wait to leave the camp, on the southern edge of the Syrian capital Damascus, Syria, Feb. 4, 2014 (photo credit: AP/SANA)
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Post by karl on Apr 4, 2015 18:21:41 GMT -7
Pieter
A very deplorable situation of these poor people, they are helpless in that part of the world of senseless killing for no good reason. But, what can be done? The area is in a stage of conflict in the manner that is too dangerious to even attempt to evacuate even a portion of this number of people indicated. With this, for road transport is out of the question for safety of the crews. This then being a prime target for militants to seize for the supplies to further their mission of destruction.
A very sad and tragic situation to say the least..
Karl
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Post by pieter on Apr 6, 2015 0:45:38 GMT -7
Karl,
You are absolutely right ofcourse. But I do believe that the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Arab Leage, the Arab countries, Israel and Iran aren't doing enough to help the Palestinians in non-military and non-terrorist means. Look at the situation of Palestinian refugees in Arab countries. Ofcourse the OIC, Arab Leage (Arab countries) and Iran on one side and Israel on the other side are on opposite sides. The Arabs and Iranians are fellow Muslims. Most Arabs are fellow Sunni-Muslims, Iran is a Shia-Muslim nation which supported and supports both the Shia-Muslim Lebanese Hezbollah as the Sunni-Muslim Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza and the Westbank. Fatah (the PLO) is on it's own, but via the Palestinian Authority get's support from the EU and the USA (and probably the United Nations).
The Arab rulers aren't interested in solving the Palestinian suffering and thus 'problem', because Iran is seen as the largest problem by them, and secondly the Arab governments and leaders fear the Islamic State (ISIL,Daesh) and Al Qaida. The Arabs aren't interested in integrating and assimilating the Palestinian refugees (who live in their countries for 67 years now), because they don't want them. Palestinians are fellow arabs and fellow Muslims, but stil they are rejected by both the Sunni-Muslim Arabs as the Shia-Muslim Arabs. That is a harsh fact. And thus the suffering continues and it seems that there seems to be no future for the Palestinians in the Middle east. They are in a catch 22 situation. They have no space of their own, no real nation or country to live in. In fact they have two options. To become Israeli's or to flee to the West or to other non-Arab area's. They are the pariah's of today.
Cheers,
Pieter
P.S.- I wish that there was a solution for the Palestinians and their non-Palestinian neighbors where ever they live. Not only the Palestinians suffer, but also the people that live next to them. It is strange that sometimes the strongest avocates for Palestinian rights are christians and jews. Or maybe from an ethical and historical perspective not so strange?
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Post by pieter on Apr 6, 2015 3:19:40 GMT -7
 U.N. official: State of Syrian refugee camp ‘beyond inhumane’ Women collect food aid distributed by UNRWA at the Yarmouk refugee camp. (Reuters)By The Associated Press | Beirut
Monday, 6 April 2015Shelling and sporadic clashes struck a Palestinian refugee camp under attack by Islamic extremists in Damascus Monday, a situation that a U.N. official described as “ beyond inhumane.” Hatem al-Dimashqi, an activist based in an area just south of Damascus, said the Yarmouk camp was under attack Monday. Both Al-Dimashqi and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also said Syrian government’s air force has dropped several barrel bombs on the camp since Sunday. ISIS militants stormed the camp Wednesday, marking the extremist group’s deepest foray yet into Damascus. Palestinian officials and Syrian activists said they were working with rivals from the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria, the Nusra Front. The two groups have fought bloody battles against each other in other parts of Syria, but appear to be cooperating in the attack on Yarmouk. Nusra said in a statement it is taking a neutral stance in the camp. Chris Gunness, a spokesman for the U.N. agency that supports Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA, told The Associated Press in Barcelona late Sunday that the agency has not been able to send any food nor any convoys into the camp since the fighting started. “ That means that there is no food, there is no water and there is very little medicine,” he said. “ The situation in the camp is beyond inhumane. People are holed up in their houses, there is fighting going on in the streets. There are reports of ... bombardments. This has to stop and civilians must be evacuated.” He said 93 people have been evacuated from the camp so far. The United Nations says around 18,000 civilians, including a large number of children, are trapped in Yarmouk. The camp has been under government siege for nearly two years, leading to starvation and illnesses. The camp also has witnessed several rounds of ferocious and deadly fighting between government forces and militants. Gunness said the camp has been under siege for nearly two years, adding that “ things were bad and things got worse when the fighting engulfed the camp.”  Palestinians at the Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria receive supplies from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency on March 9. Last Update: Monday, 6 April 2015 KSA 13:09 - GMT 10:09www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32192596www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32189636www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-32193223edition.cnn.com/2014/01/15/world/meast/syria-palestinian-refugees-starving/index.htmledition.cnn.com/2015/04/05/world/syria-yarmouk-refugees/index.htmlwww.aljazeera.com/news/2015/04/syria-yarmouk-150406062343596.html |
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Post by pieter on Apr 6, 2015 4:10:01 GMT -7
 Hamas slams Abbas for failing to help Palestinian refugees in SyriaGaza-based Islamist group's statements come after IS seizes most of Yarmuk refugee campHamas on Sunday slammed the Palestinian Authority for not doing enough to help Palestinian refugees in Syria, as the largest refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus was seized by the Islamic State group over the weekend. " The role of the Palestinian Authority has diminished in managing the latest crisis," Hamas' spokesperson in Lebanon Ali Barakh told the Hamas-linked daily Al-Resalah. " This runs contrary to the efforts that were made by the PLO in the past to solve crises in the camp." PA President Mahmoud Abbas sent several delegations to Syria in recent years, in an attempt to persuade President Bashar al-Assad to keep the Palestinians out of the civil war raging in the country for the past four years. Abbas also tried to absorb Palestinian refugees from Syria in the West Bank, but the idea never came to fruition after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanded they renounce their " right of return" to Israel proper. Israel had agreed to allow the refugees return to the West Bank or Gaza on that condition, which Abbas formally rejected. Around 2,000 people have been evacuated from the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp, a Palestinian official told AFP Sunday. " Around 400 families, approximately 2,000 people, were able to leave the camp on Friday and Saturday via two secure roads to the Zahira district, which is under army control," said Anwar Abdul Hadi, a Palestine Liberation Organization official.  "Palestinians shout slogans outside the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) headquarters the West Bank city of Ramallah during a gathering in solidarity with the Palestinians living in the besieged Yarmuk camp in Damascus, on April 5, 2015"Abdul Hadi said Syrian troops had helped in the evacuation, which came as Palestinian forces battled to hold back IS fighters who have captured large swathes of the camp since Wednesday. He said most of those evacuated from the camp were being hosted in government shelters, with at least 25 wounded taken to two hospitals in Damascus. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group, confirmed that " hundreds" of people had been evacuated from the camp. The group said at least 26 people, including civilians as well as fighters from IS and Palestinian factions, had been killed in the camp since Wednesday. Since the jihadist advance, regime forces have pounded the camp with shells and barrel bombs, according to the Observatory. Palestinian officials and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA have urged humanitarian access to the camp. Yarmuk, in south Damascus, was once home to 160,000 people, Syrians as well as Palestinians. But its population has dwindled to just 18,000 since the uprising erupted in March 2011.  "Palestinian refugees queue up to receive aid parcels from a local organisation at the besieged Yarmuk refugee camp, south of the Syrian capital Damascus, on March 11, 2015"The camp is encircled by government forces and was under a tight siege for more than a year. An agreement last year between rebels and the government, backed by Palestinian factions, led to an easing of the siege, but humanitarian access has remained limited. IS fighters attacked the camp on Wednesday, and were initially largely repelled, but were subsequently able to capture large parts of it. Palestinian officials have accused al-Qaida's Syrian affiliate Al-Nusra Front of helping IS to enter the camp. Among the deaths in the fighting were at least two Palestinian militants reportedly beheaded by IS, according to the Observatory and jihadist social media accounts. Syrian forces remain outside the camp, and sources said troops had set up additional checkpoints around Yarmuk after the fighting began. www.i24news.tv/en/tv/replay/i24newsen/4154712123001 |
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Post by pieter on Apr 6, 2015 4:23:36 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Apr 6, 2015 15:37:06 GMT -7
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Post by pieter on Apr 7, 2015 0:39:07 GMT -7
Dear friends,
The situation for the Palestinians in the Yarmouk refugee Camp is very, very dire. The Palestinians are very afraid of ISIS (Islamic state) and the Al Nusra Front and they are actually hostage of them in the parts of the camp which are controlled by them. It is actually a Hamas affiliate which is fighting the Islamic state and the Al Nusra Front there.
Aknaf Beit al-Madqis, the largest Palestinian militia in the camp, immediately resisted the ISIS attempts to enter the camp, along with volunteer fighters from Yarmouk, according to Jafra, and was initially able to take back areas captured by ISIS. The Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis is a Palestinian rebel group active during the Syrian Civil War. The group is solely active in the Yarmouk Camp. It battled the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, backed by al-Nusra Front, in April 2015 and lost 90% of its territory. The group is loyal to Hamas.
Pieter
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Post by pieter on Apr 7, 2015 2:12:06 GMT -7
  Unwra official, Chris Gunness, said: " The situation in the camp is beyond inhumane." " There is no food, there is no water and there is very little medicine... People are holed up in their houses, there is fighting going on in the streets. There are reports of... bombardments. This has to stop and civilians must be evacuated." Sunday's heavy fighting turned into sporadic clashes on Monday, monitors said. Monitors say IS and the al-Qaeda-affiliated Nusra Front, who have fought each other in other parts of Syria, were working together in Yarmouk. A few hundred people were reported to have managed to escape the camp over the weekend. Syria's bloody conflict, which has entered its fifth year, has claimed the lives of more than 200,000 Syrians. The battle between forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, rebels opposed to his rule and Islamic State has also driven more than 11 million people from their homes. Yarmouk was first built for Palestinians fleeing the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Before the Syrian civil war began, it had more than 150,000 refugees living there and had its own mosques, schools and public buildings. But since 2012, the camp has been besieged by fighting. P.S.- Comment Pieter: This situation looks to me like Poland in September 1939 when the Poles were squeezed between the Nazi's and the Sovjets, or like the Warsaw Uprising when the Polish resistance was surrounded, bombed, shelled and shot at by the Nazi's and their Ukrainian, Russian and Baltic allies. Today the Palestinians a squeezed between ISIS and Assad. Due to the harsh conditions and the catch 22 situation for the Palestinians in Yarmuk some Assad opponents amongst the Palestinians choose the Assad side to save their own lives and that of their families, their children. |
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Post by karl on Apr 7, 2015 14:52:24 GMT -7
P.S.- Comment Pieter: This situation looks to me like Poland in September 1939 when the Poles were squeezed between the Nazi's and the Sovjets, or like the Warsaw Uprising when the Polish resistance was surrounded, bombed, shelled and shot at by the Nazi's and their Ukrainian, Russian and Baltic allies. Today the Palestinians a squeezed between ISIS and Assad. Due to the harsh conditions and the catch 22 situation for the Palestinians in Yarmuk some Assad opponents amongst the Palestinians choose the Assad side to save their own lives and that of their families, their children.
Pieter
As a personal noten, my self would agree with your assessment very much so. These Palestinians are caught between hell and hells gate in the fighting between various groups. All dangerious, all of not in mindset of the lives of these innocent people and families. The primary reason of existence in their mind set is to carry out what ever set by the goal of their leadership for what ever purpose.
Most all of these fighters are illegals propagating a civil war against the government of a sovereign nation and condoned by American leadership withen the aspects of US Foreign policy.
Withen the confines of reality, it is a wonder the forces of Basher-al Assad has managed to keep the lid on for his own government to survive so far. With this, withen the confines of reality, to have forces of The IS to contend with as another devil to chase.
The future is to those that will win, but what will be the price of victory?
Karl
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Post by pieter on Apr 7, 2015 16:02:14 GMT -7
Dear Karl,
From a legal and geopolitical and human perspective you are right. The Palestinians - in my opinion- are struggle to survive in that tiny peace of territory they have in that part of Syria. There were several fractions of Palestinians in the camp, like most Palestinians camps in Arab countries had and have several political parties, movements and armed groups. The infighting between these various groups during the Lebanese civil war, and the armed conflict between Hamas and Fatah in Gaza was already terrible enough. Now the Palestinians face even a greater threat. An extremist, non-Palestinian, murderous, genocidal entity (ISIL/The Islamic state with the support of Al Nusra) entering their camp, to terrorize, kill and hunt down Palestinian opponents and their families.
I fear that the the price of victory will be bloodshed, the blood of Palestinian women and children, elderly and men. They will pay the price for a vicious civil war or war in their camp between two strong military groups, ISIL on one side and the Syrian army, backed by Pro-Assad Palestinian militia's on the other side. It is terrible for the Palestinian population of Yarmouk Camp.
Cheers,
Pieter
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Post by pieter on Apr 12, 2015 23:36:58 GMT -7
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Post by Jaga on Apr 13, 2015 12:34:46 GMT -7
Pieter,
I remember hearing in PBS (national radio) about the Palestinian camp which looks like ghetto and people are dying there, but this did not made news like Charlie's killing in Paris etc..... The value of human life is just so different depending where we live.
Keep us updating about it. I hope that the help would reach this region eventually.
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Post by pieter on Apr 13, 2015 15:43:38 GMT -7
Dear Jaga,
The suffering of the Palestinians in that camp is beyond our imagination. They are locked in from all sides, bombarded, shelled, shot at by snypers and threatened by extremists. It seems ISIS and the Palestinians are oponents now. 14 different Palestinian militia's from various groups (Fatah, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the PFLP and others) are fighting ISIS now there. Terrible fact is that Palestinian women, children, elderly and men are in the hands of ISIS or in ISIS controled area's, or bombed or shot at by the Syrian army and Palestinian militia's, because they are inbetween the fighting parties.
No one gives a darn about these poor Palestinians. There is only power politics there and the survival of the fittest. The Palestinians will fight until their death like they are used too. The Arab Leage, the United Nations, the Palestinian Authority (Westbank), Hamas from Gaza, Jordan (with it's 50% Palestinian population) should act. The Palestinians of Lebanon, from the Palestinian camps there should come to the aid of their Palestinian brethern and sistern in Damascus. The suffering of the Palestinians is incredible, but if ISIS goes to far the wrath of the Palestinians will turn against them. And having both the Kurds and Palestinians as eternal enemies will be to much for ISIS. The Palestinians are strong and well trained faighters due to decades of armed struggle, guerilla wars and thus armed combat training. But back to the Yarmuk camp, unfortunately the present situation on the short term will be fatal for many Palestinian children, women and elderly. They will die of malnutrition, bombardments or due to sniper fire.
Cheers,
Pieter
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