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UN: 10 Palestinian refugees killed in Syria refugee camp

May 18, 2019 at 1:04 pm

A member of Free Syrian Army (FSA), backed by Turkish Army, patrols in Azez region of Aleppo, Syria within the “Operation Olive Branch” against PYD/PKK in Afrin, on 26 January, 2018 [Emin Sansar/Anadolu Agency]

Ten Palestinian refugees have been killed in a rocket attack on Neirab refugee camp in the Syrian city of Aleppo.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said that “on Tuesday night, as families gathered to break their fasts for the Ramadan Iftar meal, several rockets hit the densely populated Neirab camp for Palestine refugees in Aleppo, killing at least ten civilians and wounding more than thirty”.

“Among those killed were four children, the youngest just six years old,” the statement noted, adding that “a number of the injured remain in critical condition”.

UNRWA also added that the “ongoing hostilities around the Neirab camp” have pushed it to suspend the six schools it runs there, impacting more than 3,000 children. “While UNRWA has opened its schools in Neirab camp today,” the agency said, “it does so with the sad knowledge that three of its students will not be joining the final preparations for the end-of-year exams”.

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UNRWA condemned the killing and wounding of all civilians and called on all parties to the conflict in Syria to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law, namely taking all precautionary measures to ensure the protection of civilians during hostilities.

It added: “The dramatic escalation in hostilities in northwestern Syria leaves UNRWA concerned for an estimated 10–20,000 Palestine refugees who are displaced in that area. We join calls by other humanitarian actors in Syria for an end to the terrible suffering of civilians.”

Neirab camp is one of the most densely populated camps for Palestine refugees in Syria. It is home to some 18,000 residents and has been affected by varying levels of hostilities throughout the country’s eight-year long conflict.

Over the past few years, a significant number of displaced people have sought safety within the camp, many of whom fled from city’s decimated Ein el Tal camp in 2013.

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