More than 1000 bombs in seven days – civilians remain trapped in and around Yarmouk camp

Twenty people have been killed and more than 40 injured in the past week by an intense aerial bombardment of Yarmouk camp by the Syrian government and Russia, according to activists in the area.

Hundreds of residents remain trapped between ISIS and regime forces. More than 5000 civilians, both Palestinian refugees and Syrians, have fled the shelling and are now nearby in Yalda, where they are need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

Young volunteers are risking the snipers and bombs to cook and deliver two hot meals a day of soup, rice or bulgar wheat to their follow residents but food in the markets is scarce, shops and water sources have been destroyed.

Abdullah al-Khateeb, an activist from Yarmouk, based in Yalda said:

“The situation is getting worse every day. We don’t have any shops. The only hospital operating in the area was targeted and went out of service in the second day of the attacks. There are no medical supplies or medical staff. People wait till the bombs stop in order to come out and search for survivors. In some areas, a gasoline generator works only two hours a day due to lack of fuel. They use it to pull well water and charge mobile devices and LED lights.”

The Syria Campaign’s Director Anna Nolan said:

“Four years ago the world woke up to a photo of thousands of hungry civilians in Yarmouk – the picture went ‘viral’, yet this awareness did nothing to change the fate of those civilians. Without international protection, these final aerial assaults are the inevitable and painful end for the besieged camp. Support must be given so aid can reach the civilians fleeing the area.”