Yarmouk Camp

Yarmouk
ٱلْيَرْمُوك
Municipality/Refugee camp
Jafra Palestinian Youth Center in Yarmouk Camp, 2008
Jafra Palestinian Youth Center in Yarmouk Camp, 2008
Yarmouk is located in Syria
Yarmouk
Yarmouk
Location in Syria
Coordinates: 33°28′27″N 36°18′11″E / 33.47417°N 36.30306°E / 33.47417; 36.30306
CountrySyria Syria
GovernorateDamascus Governorate
CityDamascus
Established1957
Area
 • Total2.11 km2 (0.81 sq mi)
Population
 (2004)
 • Total137,248 (pre-war)
Time zoneUTC+3 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (EEST)
Area code11
ClimateBSk

Yarmouk (Arabic: ٱلْيَرْمُوك, ALA-LC: al-Yarmūk, IPA: [æl.jærˈmʊːk]) is a 2.11-square-kilometer (520-acre) district of the city of Damascus, populated by Palestinians. It is located 8 kilometers (5.0 mi) from the center of Damascus and within municipal boundaries; this was not the case when it was established in 1957. It contains hospitals and schools. Yarmouk is an "unofficial" refugee camp (Arabic: مُخَيَّم, ALA-LC: muḵayyam), as UNRWA rejected a Syrian government request to recognize the camp in 1960.[1] Now depopulated, it was previously home to the largest Palestinian refugee community in Syria. As of June 2002, there had been 112,550 registered refugees living in Yarmouk.[2]

During the Syrian Civil War, Yarmouk camp became the scene of intense fighting in 2012 between the Free Syrian Army and the PFLP-GC, supported by Syrian government forces. The camp then was consequently taken over by various factions and was deprived of supplies, resulting in hunger,[3] diseases and a high death rate, which caused many to flee.

By the end of 2014, the camp population had gone down to just 20,000 residents. In early April 2015, most of the Yarmouk camp was overrun by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, sparking armed clashes with Palestinian militia Aknaf Bait al-Maqdis. At this point, the population was estimated at 18,000.[4][5] After intense fighting in April/May 2018, Syrian government forces took the camp, its population now reduced to just 100–200. It is estimated that 160,000 Palestinians were displaced and forced to flee the Yarmouk refugee camp against their will during the Syrian civil war.[6] Many Palestinians raised concerns that the Syrian regime may want to redevelop the area for use by Syrians. There have been suggestions within Syria to relocate the Palestinians to remote scrubland.[7] As of 2022, Palestinians have begun to return, but the population remains far from its pre-war peak.[8]

  1. ^ Feldman, Ilana (2018). Life lived in relief : humanitarian predicaments and Palestinian refugee politics. ISBN 978-0-520-97128-8. OCLC 1043049820.
  2. ^ "Yarmouk:Unofficial Refugee Camp". UNRWA. 30 June 2002. Archived from the original on June 29, 2007. Retrieved 12 July 2007.
  3. ^ Eric Reidy. "Starving to death in Syria's Yarmouk camp". Al Jazeera English.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference desperate was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference reuters.com was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ "'Afraid of return': Palestinians fearful of life in Yarmouk camp".
  7. ^ "Syria is erasing the Palestinians' largest refugee camp". The Economist. 2023-05-03. ISSN 0013-0613.
  8. ^ Sewell, Abby (2022-11-17). "Some Palestinians return to Syria's war-battered Yarmouk camp". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 2023-01-20.