2nd LD Writethru: UN Security Council calls for "unhindered humanitarian access" to Palestinian camp in Syria

UNITED NATIONS, April 20 ( Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Monday voiced its "deep concern regarding the grave humanitarian situation in a Palestinian refugee camp outside the Syrian capital of Damascus, calling for "unhindered humanitarian access" to the camp and "the protection of civilians" there.

"The members of the Security Council expressed their deep concern regarding the grave humanitarian situation in Yarmouk Refugee Camp in Syria," said a statement issued here by the 15- nation UN body.

"The members of the Security Council called for unhindered humanitarian access to the Yarmouk Camp and for the protection of civilians inside the Camp," the statement said.

Early this month, the Islamic State (IS) group, also known as ISIL, and al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front have taken control of more than 90 percent of the Palestinian refugee camp.

The Nusra Front is helping the IS's attack on the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in the hope that it can seize the strategically important camp for itself, some Syrian activists believe.

Some 19,000 people are trapped in the camp, which has been under government siege since the end of 2012. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said Yarmouk was starting to resemble a "death camp."

The capture of Yarmouk Camp, five kilometers south of the Syrian capital Damascus, by the Nusra and the IS groups came after four days of intense battles with the rival jihadist group, Aknaf Beit al-Maqdes, which has been in control of the camp since 2013.

The UN agency tasked with the ensuring the well-being of Palestinian refugees is appealing for 30 million U.S. dollars to carry out life-sustaining assistance to 18,000 civilians from besieged Yarmouk refugee camp, including 3,500 children.

Over the past days, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has significantly expanded its response in areas neighboring Yarmouk, on the southern edge of Damascus, where civilians have sought shelter amid a deteriorating security situation since armed groups began fighting in and around the camp.

Cut off from the world for nearly two years, people in the Yarmouk refugee camp remain deprived of food, water, and subjected to frequent eruptions of armed violence. That camp is, unfortunately, not the only crisis facing Palestinian refugees in Syria, UNRWA said.

There are currently some 480,000 Palestine refugees in Syria in need of assistance.

The council underscored support for UN efforts to assist trapped Palestinian refugees in Yarmouk through a three-point plan that includes providing assistance for civilians who are unwilling or unable to leave Yarmouk, assisting those who want to " temporarily relocate" from the camp to do so safely and freely and assisting Yarmouk residents who have already fled, the statement said.

"The members of the Security Council called on all parties to support the UN framework and to comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law, international human rights and refugees laws, and demanded that all parties cease all attacks against civilians, including shelling and aerial bombardment," the statement said.

"The members of the Security Council condemned all acts of terrorism perpetrated and demanded that ISIL and Al-Nusra Front, UNSC-designated terrorist organizations, withdraw from Yarmouk Camp immediately," the statement said.

The council members called on all parties to immediately implement the relevant Security Council resolutions in line with the international humanitarian law, the statement added. Endite