AMP demands safe haven for refugees in Syria's Yarmouk Camp

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(CHICAGO 04/06/2015) – The American Muslims for Palestine, a national education and advocacy organization, today expresses concern with the utmost urgency for the Palestinian and Syrian refugees who reside in the Yarmouk refugee camp near Damascus.

Over the weekend, human rights organizations reported the Syrian regime dropped barrel bombs on the civilian population, which also is impacted by the intense fighting between other armed groups, including ISIL.

“Credible information from public sources indicates that a variety of armed groups engaged in fierce fighting in areas where Yarmouk's 18,000 civilians, including some 3,500 children reside, placing them at extreme risk of death, serious injury, trauma and displacement,” said Chris Gunness, spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, the body responsible for Palestinian refugees.

 At one time, more than 160,000 Palestinians lived in Yarmouk camp but that number has dwindled to 18,000 due to the ongoing civil war. The Syrian regime at one time held the camp under siege, causing the starvation deaths of hundreds. During 2014, UNRWA was allowed to make only 89 relief aid deliveries, far short of the 400 needed to sustain life. Refugees are suffering from starvation, malnutrition, other nutrient-deficiency diseases and polio. The situation is so dire, a UN official said it was “beyond inhuman.”

“Under international law, refugees are a protected class and as such are guaranteed the rights to quality of life, quality of health, including access to medical treatment and medicine, and safety,” said AMP Chairman Dr. Hatem Bazian. “Yarmouk’s residents must not be used as pawns in this intractable conflict and all efforts must be directed at protecting their rights and providing access to all supplies necessary to remedy the deteriorating conditions on the ground.”

AMP holds all warring parties responsible for the refugees’ well-being and demands from all parties respect for international conventions to ensure the protection of Yarmouk’s residents. AMP demands an end to the fighting and demands that UNRWA and other human rights groups gain immediate access to the suffering refugees.