Exits reportedly opened at Syria's Yarmouk

PLO spokesman says two exits opened to allow besieged district's mainly Palestinian residents to flee fighting.

 

A Palestinian official has said exits have been opened up at Syria's besieged Yarmouk camp to allow residents to flee fighting between Palestinian factions and ISIL fighters.
Palestinian Liberation Organisation spokesman Ahmed Majdalani told Al Jazeera on Monday that the operation was being conducted by Palestinian groups in coordination with the Syrian government.
Yarmouk, which houses thousands of Palestinian refugees and Syrians, has been shelled by government forces since fighting between Palestinian groups and members of the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant (ISIL) group began last week.

On Sunday, Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas said the PLO in Damascus had formed a "cell to handle this tragedy and they are trying to work it out with the least losses". "We are in touch with our brothers there to find a way out and protect our people," he said.
Chris Gunness, spokesman for UNRWA, told Al Jazeera his organisation could not confirm reports that exits allowing people to leave had been established, but said it was "good news" if true.
"We got aid to 94 people yesterday who had left the camp. Whether they escaped or were allowed to leave, we do not know" Gunness said.
"We're calling on all sides to exercise maximum restraint," he added.
About 18,000 civilians, including 3,500 children, are trapped in Yarmouk, according to UNRWA.
ISIL stormed the camp on Wednesday, launching an offensive against a Palestinian group opposed to the Syrian government.
Palestinian officials and Syrian activists said ISIL was working with rivals from the al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, the Nusra Front. The two groups have fought each other elsewhere in Syria, but are reportedly cooperating in Yarmouk.
However, the Nusra Front said in a statement on Sunday that it is not participating in the battles and was taking a neutral stance. The statement added that Nusra opened its offices and welcomed all those who do not want to take part in the fighting and gave them refuge.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the Syrian conflict through a network of local activists, said the fighting had killed 26 people since the clashes first broke out.
A myriad of Syrian and Palestinian armed groups are active in Yarmouk, and the district has witnessed several rounds of deadly fighting between government forces and rebels.
The camp has been under government siege for nearly two years, leading to starvation and illnesses triggered by lack of medical aid.
As of February 2015, OCHA officially recognised 11 besieged areas in Syria with the estimate of 212,000 civilians living in them. A Syrian-American NGO, the Syrian Medical Society, estimates that the number of people living under siege is as high as 640,200.