The UN Security Council has demanded humanitarian access to Syria’s Yamuk Palestinian refugee camp as residents described fleeing in terror after the arrival of jihadists of the Islamic State group.
The advance by the extremists into the battered neighbourhood of south Damascus has alarmed the international community and Palestinian officials, with a delegation from the West Bank heading to Syria to discuss the situation.
The Security Council earlier expressed deep concern about the situation, said Jordan’s ambassador Dina Kawar, who chairs the council this month.
It called “for the protection of civilians in the camp for ensuring a humanitarian access to the area including by providing life-saving assistance,” Kawar said.
It also stood ready to consider “further measures to provide necessary assistance,” she added, without providing details.
The call came after the council held a closed-door meeting on the crisis and heard from the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees about the plight of the camp’s 18,000 or so remaining residents.
UNRWA chief Pierre Krahenbuhl described the situation as “more desperate than ever.” He urged countries with influence in Syria to act “for civilian lives to be spared and for humanitarian access to be given.”
The camp, the largest of its kind in Syria, has suffered repeated bombardment and has been under a government siege for more than 18 months.
The embargo was so tight at one point that there were reports of deaths from shortages of food and medicines. Residents said they survived on wild herbs and plants.
An agreement last year allowed a slight easing of the siege, but humanitarian access has remained limited.
A delegation led by Palestine Liberation Organization official Ahmed Majdalani was due to hold talks in Damascus later April 7. Majdalani said ahead of the trip that he would talk to Syrian officials about securing a corridor to allow aid in and civilians out.
