Palestinian refugees in Syria ask UNRWA to deliver aid to opposition areas

Palestinian refugees who fled Damascus have called on the UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA) to deliver assistance to them at their current residences in the areas controlled by the opposition, Anadolu reported on Monday.

The Task Group for Palestinian Refugees in Syria published messages sent by the refugees to UNRWA pointing out the suffering and danger they would face if they returned to Damascus or areas controlled by the Syrian regime to receive their assistance.

In these messages the Palestinian refugees expressed their grief and sadness that they are deprived of their assistance, including medical care, education, food and cash payments as they are living far away from their homes.

Read: The forgotten Palestinians in the Syrian hell

Most young people cannot enter regime-controlled areas in the country because they had fled conscription, the messages noted.

The ongoing Syrian conflict, which started in 2011 as a peaceful demonstration and then turned violent when the Syrian forces attacked the protesters, has created 4.8 million refugees and 6.5 million internally displaced people.

UNRWA said in a previous report that Palestinian refugees were among the most harmed of the Syrian population, noting that more than 60 per cent of them (450,000 refugees) were displaced and 43,000 held in besieged areas.