The Action Group for Palestinians of Syria (AGPS) issued a new report documenting the Assad regime’s violations against Palestinian-Syrians which have been ongoing since the start of the Syrian revolution in March 2011.
The report was issued to mark the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People which falls on November 29 of each year.
According to the report, at least 3,903 Palestinian refugees have been killed in Syria since March 2011. The majority of those were killed in bombardment by the Assad regime and Russia’s aircraft and as a result of sieges, armed clashes and torture. Others also drowned in the sea while trying to reach Europe.
The report indicated that at least 1,712 Palestinian refugees were still detained by the Assad regime and whose fate is still unknown. It added that no fewer than 560 Palestinian-Syrian detainees have died under torture in the prisons of the Assad regime.
Out of the 650,000 Palestinian refugees who were in Syria at the start of the revolution, as many as 150,000 have fled abroad, the London-based monitoring group said. It noted that more than 60% of the Palestinian-Syrians were displaced at least once inside Syria.
Rights groups have already warned of the double suffering being faced by Palestinian-Syrians. According to the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, 95 percent of Palestinian refugees in Syria suffer food insecurity and are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, while 93 percent are classified as vulnerable or extremely vulnerable.
The Group pointed out that Palestinian-Syrians are banned entry to the majority of the Arab and Islamic countries, except under extremely strict conditions.
The Group called on the international community to provide Palestinian-Syrians with the necessary protection and ensure relief convoys are allowed immediate access into the Palestinian refugee camps and besieged areas. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
