651 Palestinians lost or imprisoned in Syria, 74 death by torture

The Working Group for Palestinians in Syria has announced that 74 Palestinian died after suffering severe torture in Syrian prisons.

In a press release, spokesperson of the group Tariq Hamoud also said that the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian refugee camps in Syria is going from bad to worse.

Hamoud said that the number of Palestinian refugees killed since the beginning of the conflict in Syria had reached 1,597, in addition to 651 others lost or imprisoned.

According to Hamoud, what makes the situation even “more tragic” is the absence of regional and international action to help the refugees. He also said that there are no “notable” measures being taken by the Palestinian leadership regarding the Palestinian refugees in Syria.

He added that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has no real presence on the ground to support the Palestinian refugees in Syria.

Hamoud explained that, “More than 150,000 Palestinian refugees have left Syria, heading to different destinations. About 30,000 arrived in Europe and 120,000 are distributed between Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Libya and Turkey, and a few in other countries around the world.”

Regarding the legal procedures, Hamoud noted that the Palestinian refugees leaving Syria face “the worst treatment” in the Arab countries.

Describing the situation on the ground, Hamoud said: “Al-Yarmouk Refugee Camp has been under strict siege for more than 77 days and residents there are suffering severe shortages of food because the Syrian regime prevents aid organisations from working inside Syria.”

He noted that the only food aid that has reached the refugees was that of the European Al-Wafa Convoy. He stressed that the situation for all the Palestinian refugees in Syria is very bad, “but Al-Yarmouk is the worst.”

At the end of the press release, Hamoud called upon the Palestinian leadership and UNRWA to take on their responsibilities towards the more than 1.5 millions Palestinian refugees in Syria.