Syria conflict: Rebels to leave Yarmouk refugee camp

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Friday 25 Dec 2015 - 13:53 Makkah mean time-14-3-1437 (AFP Image) Damascus, (IINA) - A UN-brokered deal could see thousands of Syrian rebels and their families leave areas in and around the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus on Friday, BBC reported. The deal, which is still at a delicate stage, involves an agreement between rebel fighters and the government. It could see a number of militants from ISIS given safe passage to their stronghold of Raqqa. The aim is to make Yarmouk safe again so that the 18,000 people believed to be trapped there can receive aid. In April, ISIS militants infiltrated the camp and briefly seized large parts of it. Yarmouk is divided into areas controlled by ISIS, Al-Nusra Front and pro- and anti-government Palestinian militants. Government forces maintain checkpoints around the area preventing civilians from leaving. The proposed deal could see fighters begin to withdraw from Yarmouk, and the neighboring districts of Hajar Al-Aswad and Al-Qadam on Friday. It is not clear exactly which groups are involved, but the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reported that wounded ISIS militants and members of their families would be among those leaving. Earlier this year, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described Yarmouk as the "deepest circle of Hell". Therefore, the deal should benefit all those involved. SOHR, a UK-based monitoring group that uses a network of sources on the ground, said a number of buses had already arrived in Al-Qadam to take them to ISIS-held territory elsewhere in Syria. Yarmouk was first built for Palestinians fleeing the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Before the Syrian civil war began in 2011, it had more than 150,000 refugees living there. Those trapped in the camp for the past two years, including 3,500 children, have no access to regular food supplies, clean water or healthcare. AG/IINA