Gunfire prevents entry of food convoy to Yarmouk refugee camp

The leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command (PFLP-GC) in Yarmouk refugee camp, Anwar Raja, said on Monday that a relief convoy was unable to enter the camp due to gunfire, Palestinian newspaper Al-Resala has reported.

Raja told Al-Resala that the convoy was shot at as it passed Al-Hojaira neighbourhood on its way to Palestine Square inside the refugee camp. He said that the Palestinian factions are going to contact the relevant people so that the desperately-needed convoy can get in.

Prominent Hamas official Osama Hamdan had claimed earlier that the relief convoy had entered Yarmouk, which has been suffering under a strict siege for more than five months. He reported the news to Al-Resalah after the convoy had passed a Syrian Army checkpoint. According to Hamdan, this is the first of a number of important steps, with six lorries loaded with food and medical aid. He said that certain parties had pledged to offer the needed relief, but he did not name them.

Hamdan also told Al-Resala that there are plans to reconstruct the refugee camp, but this issue would be postponed for discussion at a later date, after guaranteeing the supply of food and medical relief.