Palestinian refugees struggle to escape conscription in regime controlled areas of Syria

Palestinian refugees in areas controlled by Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in Syria are struggling to escape conscription and often have little choice but to join the regime’s forces, Task Group for the Palestinian Refugees in Syria said on Sunday.

According to a report by the Task Group, Palestinian refugees can either join regime militias or flee the areas under the control of Assad.

The Task Group said that most refugees prefer remaining inside besieged refugee camps than joining the regime forces.

Activists told the Task Group that a number of Palestinian refugees, who were junior or senior officers in Assad’s army, were killed by the opposition, who considered them to be part of the Syrian regime. According to the activists, this is the main reason that they refuse to join Assad’s forces.

Palestinian refugees in Homs are suffering from intensified security campaigns. The Task Group documented 212 prisoners, most of them from Al-A’edoun Refugee Camp.

Two weeks ago, Syrian regime forces arrested Palestinian refugee Ziad al-Sha’er who is in his 70s. His family have since fled to Turkey to avoid further harassment.