3 Palestinians killed in Syria shelling, activists say

Source :  Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- Three Palestinians were killed and several others injured when Syrian government forces shelled a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus on Monday, activists said.

A Palestinian activist group said that an elementary school was hit by artillery shells in al-Bazour street, killing two children and a man.

Hisham Mahmoud, in the third grade, Farahat Mubarak, a fifth grader, and a man identified and Ehab Abu Risha, were named as those killed by locals.

At least 7 other children were injured in the incident.

In early March, the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria said in a statement that around 1,038 Palestinians had been killed in the 22-month Syrian conflict, which has claimed the lives of around 70,000 people and created hundreds of thousands of refugees.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees said it was shocked by an incident in March in which two Palestinian men were hanged in public on Palestine Street in Yarmouk refugee camp.

A picture of Hisham Mahmoud published on the Facebook page of a Palestinian activist group in Damascus

Despite repeated statements from Palestinian officials that Syria camps are neutral in the internal conflict, Palestinians have been adversely affected by fighting in the two year conflict.

In December, heavy fighting broke out in Yarmouk camp between Syrian rebels and the army, causing the large scale displacement of Palestinian refugees.

Syria hosts half a million Palestinian refugees, descendants of those admitted after the creation of Israel in 1948, and has always cast itself as a champion of the Palestinian struggle, sponsoring several guerrilla factions.