Syrian regime attacked Yarmouk camp, says UN

The Syrian regime launched a bombardment of the Yarmouk refugee camp despite assurances it would not attack while civilians remained inside, the United Nations said yesterday.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon condemned the attack carried out on Tuesday, urging the Syrian regime to “immediately end any military operation that could endanger the lives of civilians in Yarmouk camp and abide strictly by its obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law to protect civilians during armed conflict.”

The Yarmouk camp has been besieged by government troops since 2012 and has been engulfed by intense fighting since the beginning of April when Islamic State (ISIS) and Al-Nusra Front militants stormed it.

“Thousands of civilians in the camp are besieged by terrorist and other armed groups on the inside and government forces on the outside,” Ban said.

The camp housed approximately 18,000 Palestinian refugees, including nearly 3,500 children, as of early April.

The UN chief also called on the Security Council and countries with influence on the Syrian government and other armed groups “to do all in their power to protect civilian lives.”

Yarmouk made headlines in 2013 when 166 Palestinian residents besieged by regime forces starved to death inside the camp.

The four-year conflict in Syria has killed more than 220,000 victims and displaced an estimated 7.6 million.