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40 terrorists killed in Yarmouk refugee camp clashes

Residents of the besieged Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in Damascus, Syria, queue to receive food supplies on January 31, 2014.

Forty militants have been killed in clashes between ISIL Takfiri terrorists and armed Palestinian refugees inside the Yarmouk camp near the Syrian capital, Damascus.

According to the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, ISIL terrorists engaged members of a Palestinian faction called Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis in the camp on Friday.

The Britain-based group further noted that the fierce clashes have denied the residents of the camp access to water pumps and food distribution points over the past 48 hours, and they are suffering from a severe shortage of water and food.

The ISIL terrorists stormed the Yarmouk camp on Wednesday. They were expelled a day later but re-entered the camp on Friday.

Once a very thriving place hosting tens of thousands of Palestinian refugees as well as Syrians, Yarmouk has turned into a ghost town as a result of violent attacks by anti-government militants over the past four years of turmoil in Syria.

Around 20,000 people still remain in the camp, a tiny portion of the initial 160,000 Palestinian refugees residing in the area.

ISIL was in control of the camp until 2014, when a deal with the Syrian government saw the group withdraw. The Syrian army has since then besieged the camp as it has turned into a major bastion for spreading anti-government militancy.

UN relief workers with blue helmets and vests are seen at the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk in Damascus, Syria, April 24, 2014.

Syria has been grappling with a deadly crisis since March 2011. The violence fueled by Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 215,000 people, according to reports.

New figures show that over 76,000 people, including thousands of children, lost their lives in Syria last year.

Over 3.8 million Syrians have left their country since the beginning of the crisis. More than 7.2 million Syrians have also become internally displaced, according to the United Nations.

MP/HSN/SS


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