Hundreds flee clashes in Palestinian camp in Damascus

BEIRUT // Hundreds of residents of a Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital Damascus fled on Sunday amid shelling by government forces and clashes between ISIL fighters and Palestinian militants.

Many residents started fleeing the Yarmouk camp after midnight as the fighting let up, said an activist based in an area just south of Damascus, Hatem Al Dimashqi.

The camp has been subjected to intense shelling and airstrikes by the government.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Mr Al Dimashqi said those who fled the camp have reached the southern Damascus suburbs of Yalda, Babila and Beit Sahem, which are under rebel control.

Syrian state TV said as many as 2,000 people have left the camp. Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas said in Ramallah that residents of Yarmouk have been victimised by Syria’s civil war.

Government forces and different rebel factions are clashing and “we pay the price”, he said.

He added that the Palestine Liberation Organization in Damascus has formed a “cell to handle this tragedy and they are trying to work it out with the least losses”.

Mr Abbas said: “We are in touch with our brothers there to find a way out and protect our people.”

ISIL militants stormed the camp on Wednesday, marking the extremist group’s deepest foray yet into the capital.

Palestinian officials and Syrian activists said they were working with rivals from the Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria, the Jabhat Al Nusra. 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.

Jabhat Al Nusra said on Sunday that it was not participating in the battles and is taking a neutral stance. The Observatory said the fighting has killed 26 people since the clashes first broke out.

In Damascus, Anwar Raja, the spokesman for Damsascus-based Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command, which supports embattled Syrian president Bashar Assad, said several pro-Assad factions have united to defend the camp. He said more than 100 civilians have been either killed or kidnapped by the ISIL fighters whom he said now control about half the camp, adding that the priority now is to evacuate civilians.

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 caused by lack of medical aid. The camp has also witnessed several rounds of ferocious and deadly fighting between government forces and militants. * Associated Press