UN calls for Assad to stop shelling Yarmouk

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday called on the Syrian regime to “immediately” stop shelling the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, in the outskirts of Damascus, a statement said.

“The secretary-general strongly condemns the shelling and aerial bombardment of the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus on 28 April despite assurances from the Syrian government that the camp would not be attacked while civilians remained inside,” the statement said.

Ban said terrorist organisations besieged the camp from inside and Assad regime forces are encircling the camp from the outside.

He also called for Assad “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 secretary-general also called on all parties “to stop the violence so as to grant secure and sustained humanitarian access to civilians inside the camp.”

Concluding his statement, Ban “urged the Security Council and member states with influence on the parties on the ground, including the Syrian government, to do all in their power to protect civilian lives.”

In the beginning of April, armed groups from ISIS and Al-Nusra stormed the camp, arresting and killing several Palestinian refugees. The regime forces dropped scores of explosive barrel bombs on the camp killing several refugees.

Prior to the start of the conflict, the camp was home to 160,000 Palestinians refugees, the number declined to approximately 18,000. Residents suffer from malnourishment as aid and food supplies are unable to enter the camp, water and electricity cuts are also commonplace.