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ISIS now controls 90 percent of Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus
The Palestine Liberation Organization on Saturday urgently appealed to the international community on behalf of thousands of refugees ensnared in the ongoing fighting at the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus. Islamic State has taken control of 90 percent of the Palestinian refugee camp on the Damascus outskirts where 18,000 civilians have suffered years of bombing, army siege and militia control, a monitoring group said on Saturday. The hardline group's offensive in Yarmouk gives it a major presence in the capital. Islamic State, the most powerful insurgent group in Syria, is now only a few kilometers from President Bashar Assad's seat of power. The United Nations has said it is extremely concerned about the safety and protection of Syrians and Palestinians in the camp. Civilians trapped there have long suffered a government siege that has led to starvation and disease. "The situation in Yarmouk is an affront to the humanity of all of us, a source of universal shame," UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) spokesman Chris Gunness said. Posted by: Besoeker 2015-04-05 |
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