U.N. SAYS HALF MILLION PALESTINIAN REFUGEES SUFFER IN SYRIA

Jerusalem, 16 Rabiul Awwal 1434 /27 January 2013 (MINA) – The UN agency for Palestinian refugees on Saturday urged donors to remember more than half a million Palestinians caught up in the Syrian conflict when they meet at a conference in Kuwait next week.

“While all civilians in Syria are bearing the brunt of the violence, the present situation of Palestinians in Syria is exceptional,” UNRWA Commissioner General Filippo Grandi said in a statement, according to The Daily Star report quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA), Sunday.

“Sadly, some 525,000 Palestine refugees in Syria are now suffering.”

According to UN figures, more than 60,000 people have perished in the conflict that erupted in March 2011 after troops brutally repressed a popular uprising against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

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“As donors make their pledges in Kuwait, I call on them to remember the Palestine refugees,” Grandi added

Kuwait hosts on Wednesday an international donors conference to raise humanitarian aid to civilians caught up in Syria’s bloody conflict.

Due to geographic necessity, thousands of Palestinian refugees are escaping the war to nearby borders in both Jordan and Lebanon. According to a report on September 2012 that The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) has registered nearly 5,000 fleeing refugees. But the number is likely much higher and will continue to grow as fighting escalates.

There are nearly half a million Palestinian refugees in Syria. Despite all attempts at sparing them the bloody outcomes of the conflict, they have still become embroiled in the fight.

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Regional powers have used their media to exploit the Palestinian issue, knowing well the sentimental value of the Palestinian narrative within the larger Arab discourse.

The outcome has been devastating, and many Palestinians have been on the run for nearly a year and a half. Areas with a concentration of Palestinian refugees are no longer neutral territories. Despite pleas and assurances, Palestinian refugees in Syria remain most vulnerable. (T/P20/R-006)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)