IS pillaging Yarmouk camp in Syria, says PLO official

The Islamic State group has been accused of “beheading, rape, torture and execution” in its latest battles in the Palestinian refugee camp at Yarmouk, southern Damascus.

Anwar Abdel-Hadi, the head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation mission in Syria, told Maan news agency that the clashes between IS and Nusra Front fighters were ongoing and that IS has 70 percent of Yarmouk camp under its control.

Abdel-Hadi said that the Palestinians in the camp were trapped and could not leave their homes due to the extensive gun battles  

The PLO official went on to say the Nusra Front, the Syrian al-Qaeda affiliate group, allowed IS to enter the Yarmouk refugee camp in April last year but has turned against them, resulting in violent clashes. This led to IS being able to impose their forces on the ground and control large territories, whereas Nusra Front were confined to small areas.

Five Palestinians including two children were killed in the gun battles during the last two weeks, but Abdel Hadi also said that there were 20 other people buried after they were beheaded by IS, with their identities still unknown.

Some 3,000 IS fighters are located in Yarmouk and the neighbouring Hajr al-Aswad area. According to Abdel-Hadi, IS have used their tactics of rape, beheading and torture to force residents of the camp to adhere to their ideology.

“We have asked for a truce to be called in order for the sick and injured to be allowed safe exit from the camp but IS refused,” he said.

“We managed to enter medical and food supplies to very limited areas,” he continued, adding that the PLO was committed to securing the lives of Palestinians inside Yarmouk but without military intervention.

The population of Yarmouk, once a bustling area that was home to both Palestinian refugees and Syrians, has dwindled from 160,000 before the start of the Syrian conflict in 2011 to 6,000.

The majority of the residents had fled to other Syrian towns and cities, with some making their way to Arab and European countries.

The camp was under heavy siege and aerial bombardment by Syrian government forces from December 2012.