Papal nuncio sees 'disgrace' in living conditions at refugee camp overrun by Islamic State
April 09, 2015
Islamic State forces have seized control of the Yarmouk refugee camp outside Damascus, raising fears that the jihadist group could launch an offensive against the Syrian capital. But the apostolic nuncio in Syria told the AsiaNews service that conditions at the refugee camp had been appalling for months before the Islamic State took over.
"It is a disgrace that people are waking up to only now,” said Archbishop Mario Zenari. For months, Palestinian families had been living in hunger at the camp, he said. “The tragedy was there for all to see.”
The Yarmouk camp has been under siege for more than two years because of Syria’s civil war, the archbishop explained. Relief supplies have not been delivered, more than 3,500 children have been hungry and homeless, and a UN report said that situation was “beyond inhumane.”
Since the offensive by the Islamic State, conditions have deteriorated still further. The death toll has reportedly reached 1,000; the jihadist leaders have killed Muslim leaders regarded as apostates; refugees are being used as human shields to protect the fighters from air attacks by the Syrian military.
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