(Eqtsad)- Islamic State has blocked food supply route to the western neighborhoods in Yarmouk refugee cam south of the capital, making the already severe living condition of 350 people harder, residents said.
ISIS has closed the only remaining humanitarian route to the neighborhoods of al-Riji and Ain Gazal western Yermouk camp, controlled by Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly Nusra Front, after refusing leaving their houses.
ISIS and the regime are together besieging the Western part of the camp, as ISIS blocks the Southern and Western sides, while the regime’s forces block the entrance to the area passing through areas controlled by the regime-allied Palestinian militias of Ahmed Jibril from the Western and Northern sides.
There are almost 350 civilians mostly women, children and elderly in the besieged area. A source confirmed that they have nothing to do with Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, but there bad luck is that their homes are within that area of Yarmouk camp.
The sources added that people in neighborhoods of Riji and Ain Ghazal live tragic conditions under the blockade and lack of clean water, food and sources of heating, as they had used plastics and old shoes for heating and cooking.
People of Yarmouk had earlier appealed many times to keep them away from the ongoing conflict in the camp and allow food, drinking water and other living needs to enter their areas.
Om Alaa, a resident of the besieged Riji neighborhood said: “We live in oppressive conditions due to siege, I am 50 years old and I have Diabetes and I need medications,, but I the barrier is closed for more than 20 days, no food, no water, the Syrian regime surrounding us from one side an ISIS from the other.
Dr. Mamdouh Abo Idris, director of Rescue Medical Center based in the West of Yarmouk refugee camp said: “we are subject to a double blockade that has been forced over the area for almost a month, civilians and the whole area suffers of shortage of medicine and medical needs such as bandages and sutures”.
The doctor explained: “many diseases have spread as a result of using unclean and contaminated drinking water, beside expired and rotten food as people do not care about their conditions, which caused them typhoid fever and bowels infections, besides the spread of respiratory diseases and allergy due to the use of plastics in the heating and cooking”.
He continued explaining that civilians of 90 families have been included in the conflict and being punished without any guilt, calling for all parties and institutions to provide them with help and not leave them under siege, hunger and disease to kill them.
The Islamic State had imposed its control over most area of Yarmouk camp for Palestinian Refugee camp after battles with the brigade of Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis of the free Syrian Army (FSA) April 2015, then they started battle Jabhat Fateh al-Sham, formerly Nusra Front, few months prior to almost controlling the whole area of the camp. In the same time, the Syrian regime's forces have been besieging Yarmouk refugee camp for nearly 4 years within a campaign known at the time as "hunger till kneel" to suppress people of the camp to and force them to surrender.
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