The Nakba of Syria

The Palestinian community in Syria is disappearing, with four years of war destroying refugee camps and forcing tens of thousands to flee.

According to the latest numbers from UNRWA, more than 60 percent of Palestinian refugees in Syria have now left the country. There are just 20,000 left in Yarmouk camp in Damascus, a camp of nearly a million people before the war - 250,000 of whom were Palestinians.

About 60,000 Palestinians are estimated to have moved from Syria to Lebanon. Fewer have managed to reach Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and other areas, including Gaza. A few thousand have reportedly managed to reach Europe, but many have died while crossing the Mediterranean.

Activists say that more than 2,500 Palestinians have been killed in Syria since March 2011, mostly by forces loyal to the regime. Of those, 269 were reportedly tortured to death in Syrian prisons.

The situation was much different at the start of the war.

Palestinians tried to keep away from the growing rebellion and protests. But the war found them when Syrians began arriving in Palestinian camps towards the end of 2011, as violence took hold in areas such as Damascus, Daraa, Latakia, Aleppo and Homs.

By the middle of 2012, the violence had reached the camps themselves. The Free Syrian Army, having taken over areas around Yarmouk such as al-Hajar al-Aswad and Tadamon, attacked the camp and removed its pro-regime defenders.

In the inevitable counter-attack, shelling and airstrikes destroyed vast areas. Those who could, fled to other areas of Damascus or abroad. Those left behind faced starvation in the ruins as the regime began a siege of rebel forces.

Those who could, fled. Those left behind faced starvation in the ruins.

Regime troops and their allied militias have been besieging the Yarmouk camp for more than 500 days.

Dozens of people have been killed or arrested attempting to sneak out of the camp. Power cuts have been reported for 600 days, while drinking water has been cut for nearly three months.

With the scarcity of food, water and medication, at least 157 people have starved to death so far, according to statistics from the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria. There have also been outbreaks of disease due to malnutrition and poor hygiene. The situation can only worsen this winter.

Eating grass

Mohammad al-Abdu lives in the nearby area of al-Hajar al-Aswad. He told al-Araby al-Jadeed that 50 people had starved to death there.

"Residents of al-Hajar al-Aswad have not received any food assistance at all. They have been eating whatever grass they could find. Many of them were killed by snipers as they searched for grass in the south, including women and children," Abdu said.

The village council, which replaced the regime-allied municipality, opened a kitchen that offers a daily meal for those in need, which helps many survive. But the kitchen cannot feed everyone, and it does not receive money regularly, especially with price rises - 1kg of rice now costs 10,000 Syrian pounds ($50).

In Husseiniya, near Damascus, a camp that used to house 10,000 people, refugees have been prevented for 400 days by regime forces from returning home.

Three-quarters of the homes in the Daraa refugee camp have been demolished, forcing refugees out to nearby villages. Water has been cut in the camp for nearly 230 days, and there are no basic services.

Most residents of Neirab, near Aleppo, have left due to a year without electricity, despite the area being under the control of the regime. In Handarat camp, near Aleppo, most refugees have left after the neighbourhood turned into a battleground between regime and opposition forces.

This is an edited translation from our Arabic edition.