Between ISIS and Assad, civilians struggle to stay alive in Yarmouk ‘death camp’
As the Syrian regime renews a siege on a militant-held enclave near Damascus, civilians are trapped between two types of barbarism: the indiscriminate fire of forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Al Assad, and the brutal medieval ideology of ISIS.
The regime bombardment of the Palestinian camp of Yarmouk continued yesterday, as did shelling of sections of the ISIS-held districts of Hajar Al Aswad and Tadamun in southeast Damascus, after a failed negotiation that would have allowed the militants to leave.
Abdullah Al Khateeb, a human rights activist in Yalda, Damascus, told The National that as the battle between the government and militants escalated, civilians had been cut off from any assistance.
“In attacks by the Syrians and Russians, 40 injuries have been reported and a Palestinian Red Crescent hospital has been hit in Hajar Al Aswad camp,” Mr Al Khateeb said. “There are no ambulances or doctors or nurses. It’s impossible to get civilians out.”
Hajar Al Aswad is ISIS’s final stronghold in Damascus but civilians are being caught in the crossfire. On Saturday, two Palestinians were killed by regime shelling in Yarmouk.
“The regime has threatened to strike if anyone leaves, because they assume ISIS fighters are escaping the area,” Mr Al Khateeb said.
Palestinian relief agency UNRWA said 6,000 people had been displaced into Yalda by the fighting. “The injured and sick should be allowed to be evacuated,” spokesperson Chris Gunness told The National. “Yarmouk has been transformed into a death camp, like one of the lower regions of hell.”
Civilians face death by regime shelling or execution by ISIS. “ISIS has been participating in various executions inside the camp and in Hajar Al Aswad,” said Mr Al Khateeb.