By Stephen Dockery
BEIRUT: Around 600 Palestinian
families have crossed from Syria into Lebanon over the past week, a Popular
Front for the Liberation of Palestine official said Sunday.
The mass crossing of about 3,000
people is the latest sign of the expanding effect of the crisis that is now
encompassing nearly every part of Syrian society. Most of the displaced came
from the Yarmouk Palestinian camp in the suburbs of Damascus, PFLP official
Marwan Abdel-Aaal said.
The camp was caught up in fighting
that has gripped the city in recent days as opposition forces have launched a
new offensive around the country. Last week, Syrian activists reported nearly
two dozen people were killed in the camp from mortar fire, likely sparking the
flight of refugees.
In Lebanon, the displaced
Palestinian families have mostly been received by other Palestinian camps,
including Nahr al-Bared, Badawi and Ain al-Hilweh, Abdel-Aaal said.
Abdel-Aaal said many of the families
have connections with Palestinians in the Lebanese camps, making for an easier
relocation in the country.
More Palestinian families have left
their camps in Syria and are trying to cross into Lebanon but are stuck at the
Masnaa border crossing because they don’t have proper exit documentation from
Syrian officials, Abdel Aaal said.
As of now, Syrian Palestinians are
only allowed to visit Lebanese camps for a week at a time, making an extended
stay as a refugee problematic. But Abdel-Aaal said the process of exit and
entry and relocation to the different camps is being discussed by government
officials and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees.
For months the Palestinian
population in Syria has largely been excluded from the conflict between
President Bashar Assad’s regime and the armed opposition. But many Palestinians
have been forced to take sides in the conflict or flee the unrest as fighting
has become bloodier and dragged in more areas of the country, particularly
urban ones,
There are more than 486,000
Palestinian refugees and nine Palestinian camps in Syria according the UNRWA,
slightly more than the 436,000 refugees in Lebanon. The country has 12
Palestinian camps. Palestinians in Syria have received a number of work
benefits and rights from the Syrian government that other Palestinians in the
region do not have.
The United Nations is now assisting around
35,000 Syrian refugees in Lebanon who were displaced by the 17-month Syrian
crisis. Local organizations say there are around 90,000 refugees in the country
with hundreds more people coming every week, particularly after recent fighting
in major Syrian cities.http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Local-News/2012/Aug-06/183550-600-palestinian-families-flee-syria-for-lebanon.ashx#axzz22kAg3sDl
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