ISIS Gains in Damascus Refugee Camp, Fighting Hamas’ Allies

More Civilians Fleeing From Camp

While there are a lot of conflict reports floating around, ISIS seems to be extending its gains across the Yarmouk Refugee Camp, on the outskirts of the Syrian capital of Damascus.

ISIS began targeting the camp on Wednesday, and quickly secured much of it. They were pushed back a bit on Thursday, though between Thursday evening and Friday they are once again expanding.

The Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis militia, a key ally of Hamas, seems to be the biggest opponent ISIS has in the camp, and they denied reports that some of their fighters had surrendered on Friday evening, vowing to keep contesting the camp.

Civilians continue to flee the camp in growing numbers, though how many were left isn’t clear. Before the war, Yarmouk had 200,000 residents, and is only estimated to be 10%, or less, now.

Yarmouk’s value to ISIS appears to be in its proximity to Damascus, giving them a base to operate out of just a few miles from the central district of the capital city.

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.