The
Islamic State of the Iraq and Levant (ISIL) group has seized control
over large parts of the Yarmouk district in southern Damascus, inhabited
mainly by Palestinian refugees, according to a senior Palestinian
official, witnesses and an activist monitoring group.
Anwar Abdel Hadi, director of political affairs for the Palestine Liberation Organisation in Damascus, told the AFP news agency that "fighters from ISIL launched an assault this morning on Yarmuk and they took over the majority of the camp" on Wednesday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said ISIL was in control of a "large part" of the neighbourhood after fighting with Palestinian groups also opposed to President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Yarmuk was once a thriving area home to 160,000 Palestinian refugees and Syrians but has been caught up in the country's fighting and besieged by regime forces for more than a year.
About 18,000 residents are estimated to remain in the camp after many fled the fighting.
Syrian rebels had withdrawn from the camp in February 2014 under a deal that left only Palestinian anti-government groups inside.
The siege has caused significant shortages of food, water and drugs inside the camp.
ISIL, which has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq, has fought not only against the Assad regime but also against other rebel groups as it seeks to expand the territory under its control.
Jordan closes border
In a separate development on Wednesday, Jordan has closed its main border crossing with Syria amid fierce clashes between rebels and government forces for control of the post.
"The Jaber border post has been been temporarily closed to travellers and goods," Jordanian Interior Minister Hussein Majali told the AFP news agency.
The closure, he said, was a "preventative measure to safeguard the lives and security of travellers due to the fighting underway on the other side of the border".
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the rebels had besieged the post and were facing air raids and rocket fire from regime forces.
The post is the last remaining border crossing with Jordan still in the hands of Syria's government, as it battles rebels who launched an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime in 2011.
Anwar Abdel Hadi, director of political affairs for the Palestine Liberation Organisation in Damascus, told the AFP news agency that "fighters from ISIL launched an assault this morning on Yarmuk and they took over the majority of the camp" on Wednesday.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, said ISIL was in control of a "large part" of the neighbourhood after fighting with Palestinian groups also opposed to President Bashar al-Assad's regime.
Yarmuk was once a thriving area home to 160,000 Palestinian refugees and Syrians but has been caught up in the country's fighting and besieged by regime forces for more than a year.
About 18,000 residents are estimated to remain in the camp after many fled the fighting.
Syrian rebels had withdrawn from the camp in February 2014 under a deal that left only Palestinian anti-government groups inside.
The siege has caused significant shortages of food, water and drugs inside the camp.
ISIL, which has seized control of large parts of Syria and Iraq, has fought not only against the Assad regime but also against other rebel groups as it seeks to expand the territory under its control.
Jordan closes border
In a separate development on Wednesday, Jordan has closed its main border crossing with Syria amid fierce clashes between rebels and government forces for control of the post.
"The Jaber border post has been been temporarily closed to travellers and goods," Jordanian Interior Minister Hussein Majali told the AFP news agency.
The closure, he said, was a "preventative measure to safeguard the lives and security of travellers due to the fighting underway on the other side of the border".
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that the rebels had besieged the post and were facing air raids and rocket fire from regime forces.
The post is the last remaining border crossing with Jordan still in the hands of Syria's government, as it battles rebels who launched an uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's regime in 2011.
Source: Aljazeera Agencies
0 comments:
Post a Comment
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the comment writers alone and does not reflect or represent the views of Stephen Chuka