Rebel Factions Kill 10 Pro-Assad Palestinians in Refugee Camp

Slain Were Members of Popular Front Faction

Syrian rebel fighters have killed 10 members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) today in the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, the latest in growing rebel efforts to contest control over the camp from the “pro-Assad” PFLP leadership.

Syrian state media quoted officials from the Foreign Ministry saying they are determined to keep the Palestinians out of the ongoing civil war, while insisting that the Assad government stands “firmly” with the Palestinians.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) has been determined to pump weapons into the Yarmouk camp in an attempt to spark a rebellion among pro-rebel Palestinians discontented with the PFLP. Fighting has been springing up in the camp over the past few weeks.

The Palestinians are just one of several factions being split by the Syrian Civil War, and as the war continues to escalate, so too will the faction fighting within the refugee camps.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.