Syrian Government Goes Ahead with Efforts to Make Yarmouk Camp Free of Gunmen, Says Haidar
Minister of State for National Reconciliation Affairs has declared that several humanitarian crises have been fabricated in order to be exploited in international meetings to put pressure on the Syrian government after the achievements of the Syrian Arab army against terrorist groups in many areas.
Ali Haidar’s remarks came during his today’s meeting with Director of UNRWA in Syria Mohammad Adar. The meeting focused on situation of Palestinian refugees in Syria in general and in Damascus countryside in particular plus reflection of crisis on their lives.
“Local reconciliation deals have not distinguished between Syrian and Palestinian citizens, and this has been clear during experiences in Palestinian refugees’ camps in Syria,” the minister said, referring to UNRWA’s role in alleviating Palestinian refugees’ suffering. ‘
On his part, Adar highly appreciated Syrian government’s support for UNRWA’s programs and tasks, asserting UNRWA’s readiness to offer humanitarian aid to crisis-affected persons, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).
The agency quoted Haidar as saying to journalists after the meeting: “UNRWA has doubled its works since the beginning of crisis in Syria in 2011 because Palestinian refugees have been targeted in order to abort their right to return to the occupied Palestinian land.”
He added that UNRWA offered services, facilities and technical and logistic support for keeping Palestinian refugees in their whereabouts or returning them to areas from which they were displaced.
“The government is going ahead with its efforts to make al-Yarmouk camp and surrounding areas in Damascus free of gunmen and arms,” Haidar said.
Adar, on his part, asserted UNRWA’s commitment to provide the necessary support to rehabilitate infrastructures- schools and hospitals- in order to notch up the main goal related to the return of Palestinian refugees to areas from which they were displaced.
Here below a link of a YouTube showing remarks of the minister and UNRWA’s Director to journalists after the meeting”
last Wednesday, Haidar met a Palestinian popular delegation headed by Director of Palestinian Liberation Organization’s politburo Anwar Abdul Hadi.
Popular initiatives
The talks dealt with the role of popular initiatives in protecting reconciliation deals and steps that will be adopted after the departure of gunmen from Yarmouk refugee camp.
“Syrian state works on facilitating the departure of gunmen from the camp of Yarmok and the return of the camp’s residents to their homes,” Haidar said, pointing out that a remarkable progress was made in reviving the deal reached previously to make the camp and surrounding areas – Hajar Aswad, Babbila, Yalda and Beit Sahem- free of gunmen.
Director of PLO’s Politburo underscored that the Palestinian popular delegation is ready to work with the Ministry of National Reconciliation Affairs to offer services to Yarmouk camp’s residents and to keep the camp as political symbol of the right of return of the Palestinian refugees to their homeland- Palestine.
He thanked the Syrian state for supporting the crisis-affected Palestinian refugees in Palestinian camps in Syria during the current circumstances.
In 2015,46.485 food parcels were distributed in Yarmouk camp – from January 30 till September 1st- by the Arab Palestinian Refugees General Commission and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) under supervision of the Syrian government.
On April 1st ,2015, hundreds of terrorists affiliated to the ISIS [Its Arabic acronym is Daesh] entered the camp of Yarmouk in collusion with terrorists affiliated to the al-Nusra Front to abort a local reconciliation deal that was due to be signed in the same month.
Syrian army units have surrounded the camp since the armed terrorist organizations captured it in 2013.
Related links: http://syriatimes.sy/index.php/news/local/17331-clashes-continue-among-terrorist-organizations-inside-yarmouk-camp
http://syriatimes.sy/index.php/news/local/21273-imminent-breakthrough-in-yarmouk-camp-crisis
Basma Qaddour