Some 600 Palestinian
families have arrived in Lebanon from Syria, most of them fleeing violence at
the Yarmuk refugee camp in Damascus, a Palestinian official in Lebanon said on
Sunday.
"Some 600
Palestinian families have arrived in Lebanon's Palestinian refugee camps in the
past three days," said Marwan Abdel Aal of the Lebanese branch of the
Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
"Most of these families
came from Yarmuk camp," he added.
On Thursday, 21 people
were killed in Yarmuk when regime forces shelled the area, according to the
Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
"Most of the
families have sought shelter in the Jalil and Taalabaya camps in the Bekaa
region" of eastern Lebanon, Abdel Aal told Agence France Presse.
"Another 50
families went to Nahr al-Bared (north Lebanon), 28 went to Baddawi (north),
while the rest went to Ain al-Hilweh near Sidon," in the South, he added.
Abdel Aal said the
recent violence had triggered an exodus from the Yarmuk camp sheltering people
displaced from the central Syrian city of Homs, and families forced by clashes
to leave their homes in parts of Damascus.
The Palestinian official
said there were fears that more families would make their way to Lebanon in the
coming days.
"There are still
families on the Syrian side of the border, waiting for permission from the
Syrian authorities to cross over," Abdel Aal said.
He went on to say that
once in Lebanon, Palestinian refugees residing in Syria faced another
difficulty, as they only have the right to remain in Lebanon for one week.
Abdel Aal noted that
Palestinian organizations have held several meetings with Lebanese officials,
along with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA.
"We are looking for
ways to enable them to stay for three months," said Abdel Aal.
Some 455,000 Palestinian
refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon.http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/49036
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