Yarmouk Camp
Yarmouk
ٱلْيَرْمُوْك | |
---|---|
Municipality/ UTC+2 (EEST) | |
Area code | 11 |
Climate | BSk |
Yarmouk (
During the
By the end of 2014, the camp population had gone down to just 20,000 residents. In early April 2015, most of the Yarmouk camp was
History
Establishment
Yarmouk was constructed in 1957 on an area of 2.11 square kilometers (0.81 sq mi) to house refugees.[2] Though it was not officially recognized as a refugee camp, road signs leading to this sector of the city read "Mukhayyam al-Yarmouk", meaning "Yarmouk camp".[2] Administratively, Yarmouk is a city (madina) in the Damascus Governorate.[9] So, in fact, it later became another district of Damascus.[10]
Operation and living
Over time, refugees living in Yarmouk improved and expanded their housing. The district became densely populated. Two main roads named (Yarmouk street) and (Falasteen street) were lined with shops and filled with service taxis and microbuses that ran through the camp.[2] The BBC wrote that, although Yarmouk "is identified as a camp, there are no tents or slums in sight. It is a residential area with beauty salons and internet cafes".[11]
Living conditions in Yarmouk appeared to be better than in other Palestinian refugee camps in Syria, and residents of the camp numbered many professionals—doctors, engineers and civil servants, as well as many casual laborers and street vendors.[2]
There were four hospitals and a number of government-run secondary schools. UNRWA operated 20 elementary schools and eight preparatory schools in the camp, and sponsors two women's program centers. There were three UNRWA health care centers in Yarmouk, two of which received upgrades in 1996 with contributions from the government of Canada. In 1997, six schools were upgraded with contributions from the government of the United States, and a kindergarten was built with funds from the government of Australia. In 1998, the UNRWA was also able to construct a health center funded by the government of the Netherlands.[2] There was another Health Center whose expertise is devoted to prevention and treatment of thalassemia. The Center was built in 2009 thanks to funds provided by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).
During the Syrian Civil War
During the
On 1 April 2015,
The situation in the camp came to the attention of the
In July 2015, the UN quietly removed Yarmouk from its list of besieged areas in Syria, despite not having been able to deliver aid there for four months, and declined to explain why it had done so.[20] By April 2016, there remained only between 7,000 and 8,000 residents in the camp due to militant fighting, conscription by the regime, and the use of wide area effect weapons such as barrel bombs. Former residents were displaced to other areas of Syria or fled outside the country, including to Lebanon and Europe.[21]
In early 2017, with Qatari mediation, the "Four Towns" truce was brokered between pro-government and Salafi factions, to end some of the ongoing sieges forming part of the conflict (see Siege of al-Fu'ah and Kafriya, Siege of Darayya and Muadamiyat) as well as to initiate a ceasefire in areas bordering Yarmouk. As a result of this deal, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters were evacuated from Yarmouk on 7 May, and ISIL fighters were also reported to be preparing to leave.[13][22]
War Crimes
A report released by Amnesty International in 2014 reveals that war crimes and crimes against humanity have been carried out on Palestinian and Syrian civilians in Yarmouk. The report highlights the deaths of around 200 civilians since the siege was tightened in July 2013, and access to crucial food and medical supplies was cut off. According to their research, 128 of those who have died starved to death in the catastrophic humanitarian crisis that has emerged. Philip Luther, Director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Amnesty International, describes it as "Civilians of Yarmouk are being treated like pawns in a deadly game in which they have no control."
According to the report, the Syrian government forces led by Bashar al-Assad have committed war crimes, including indiscriminate attacks on civilian areas such as schools, hospitals, and a mosque. The Syrian forces have also used the starvation of civilians as a weapon of war, which is another form of war crime. The electricity power supply was also cut for a year at the time of publishing the report in April 2014.[23]
Mouaffaq Dawa, a member of the Free Palestine Movement who was infamously known as the "Butcher of Yarmouk," was sentenced to life imprisonment in Germany in February 2023. Dawa was found guilty of committing war crimes in Yarmouk Camp in 2014, which included a vengeful and indiscriminate attack on defenseless Palestinian civilians within the camp. The massacre took place on 23 March 2014 when Dawa launched an RPG—an anti-tank grenade—into a group of Palestinian civilians who were waiting to receive food. Seven individuals lost their lives, among them a young boy named Musa Nidal al-Essoud, while others sustained severe injuries.[24]
End of the siege
On 19 April 2018, the Syrian government and its allies began a push to take Hajar al-Aswad, Tadamun and Beit Sahem, which make up the majority of Yarmouk, using surface-to-surface missiles, barrel and cluster bombs, and mortar fire in more than 580 air raids, with local activists reporting at least 15 civilians killed and more than 100 wounded.
On 21 May, pro-government troops fully recaptured the camp, as ISIL fighters pulled out to deserts east of the city, thus allowing the Syrian Arab Army to control the capital after 6 years.[26][36] In the month of fighting, a total of at least 21 civilians were reported killed, and 7,000 people—including 6,200 Palestinians—displaced from their homes.[26] An UNRWA spokesman said 100 to 200 civilians were estimated to remain in Yarmouk.[36] Sheikh Mohammed al-Omari, a cleric loyal to the government, condemned government troops and allied militias for looting homes in the captured neighborhood.[36] According to The Economist, many Palestinians believe the government plans to redevelop Yarmouk for use by Syrians.[7]
On April 3, 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian army, in coordination with the Syrian military, had discovered the remains of missing Israeli soldier Zechariah Baumel, along with those of 20 other people, in a cemetery in the Yarmouk Camp. Baumel had gone missing after the Battle of Sultan Yacoub during the 1982 Lebanon War and his whereabouts were unknown in the decades since. Baumel's remains were returned to Israel and buried in the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on April 4.[37][38]
See also
References
- OCLC 1043049820.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ a b c d e f "Yarmouk:Unofficial Refugee Camp". UNRWA. 30 June 2002. Archived from the original on June 29, 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2007.
- ^ Eric Reidy. "Starving to death in Syria's Yarmouk camp". Al Jazeera English.
- ^ a b Harriet Sherwood (26 February 2014). "Queue for food in Syria's Yarmouk camp shows desperation of refugees". The Guardian.
- ^ a b "U.N. Security Council mulls how to help Syria's Yarmouk civilians". Reuters. 6 April 2015.
- ^ "'Afraid of return': Palestinians fearful of life in Yarmouk camp".
- ^ ISSN 0013-0613.
- ^ Sewell, Abby (2022-11-17). "Some Palestinians return to Syria's war-battered Yarmouk camp". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2023-01-20.
- ^ Damascus governorate population 2004 census Archived 2012-08-01 at archive.today
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ "Lure of the homeland fades for Palestinian refugees," Lina Sinjab, 24 August 2010, BBC News.
- ^ "IS militants 'enter Yarmouk refugee camp' in Syrian capital". BBC News. BBC News. April 1, 2015. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ a b Rollins, Tom (May 30, 2017). "Future uncertain as jihadis begin to leave Damascus' Yarmouk camp". Al-Monitor. Archived from the original on October 30, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
- ^ "The ISIS Battle for Yarmouk Camp: Troubling Implications". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 2023-03-07.
- ^ Barnard, Anne (4 April 2015). "Islamic State Seizes Palestinian Refugee Camp in Syria". New York Times. Retrieved 4 April 2015.
Reports of killings and even beheadings were beginning to circulate on Saturday, worsening what is already a longstanding humanitarian nightmare for the 18,000 residents of the Yarmouk refugee camp.
- ^ 12 Palestinian refugees killed in Yarmouk, qassam.ps
- ^ "Syrian rights group: At least 13 killed in Yarmouk camp". Anadolu Ajansı.
- ^ https://www.unrwa.org/newsroom/emergency-reports/yarmouk-situation-update-9
- ^ JTA (6 April 2015). "Israeli Arab MK: World ignoring ISIS massacre of Palestinians". Haaretz. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ Dyke, Joe (24 July 2015). "Yarmouk camp no longer besieged, UN rules". IRIN. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ "Forgotten and without a future: Syria's Palestinian refugees". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 2016-04-22.
- ^ Deal sees Nusra fighters evacuate from Syria's Yarmouk, Al-Jazeera, 7 May 2017
- ^ "Syria: Yarmouk under siege - a horror story of war crimes, starvation and death". 10 March 2014.
- ^ "EXCLUSIVE: 'Butcher of Yarmouk', a testimony of survivors". 21 March 2023.
- ^ a b Farah Najjar Syria's Yarmouk camp: From a 'war on stomachs' to 'annihilation', Al Jazeera, 24 Apr 2018
- ^ a b c Osama Moussa and Tom Rollins Yarmouk, A Palestinian Tragedy Plays Out In Syria, Mada Masr, 24 May 2018
- ^ a b Syria regime kills 20 civilians in Yarmouk refugee camp, Middle East Monitor, 25 April 2018
- ^ a b Estimated 60 percent of Yarmouk destroyed amid violence: Group, Al-Jazeera, 27 April 2018
- ^ Raf Sanchez Palestinian refugee camp in Syria turns 'unimaginably brutal' as Assad regime drives Isil out of Yarmouk, Daily Telegraph 26 April 2018
- ^ Syria is erasing the Palestinians’ largest refugee camp, The Economist, May 3rd 2018
- ^ Syrian army controls 65% of Yarmouk Refugee Camp, say Russians, Middle East Monitor, May 5, 2018
- ^ Josie Ensor Syrian and Russian forces launch large-scale attack on Palestinian refugee camp controlled by Isil, Daily Telegraph, 16 May 2018
- ^ A Ceasefire Agreement in Yarmouk Camp, Enab Baladi, 19 May 2018
- ^ Seth Frantzman Catastrophic destruction as Syrian regime pounds Palestinian refugee camp, Jerusalem Post, 20 May
- ^ Activists: ISIL fighters withdraw from Syria's Yarmouk, Al-Jazeera, 20 May 2018
- ^ a b c Syrian cleric condemns 'flagrant looting' after regime captured Yarmouk, Al-Araby, 24 May 2018
- ^ Lazaroff, Tovah; Ahronheim, Anna (April 4, 2019). "Putin: Our Soldiers Found Baumel's Body Along with Syrian Forces". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
- Ynetnews. April 4, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2019.
External links
- Yarmouk, articles from UNWRA
- Palestinians at Yarmouk camp are forced to take sides in the Syrian conflict, Dunia Manzar, 11 February 2013