Abbas Asks U.N. to Help Syria Refugees Enter Palestinian Territories

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas urged the international community to help Palestinian refugees fleeing fighting in camps in Syria to enter the West Bank and Gaza.

"Mahmoud Abbas, president of the state of Palestine, requested Wednesday that U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the international community enable our people in Syria to enter Palestinian territory," a statement carried on the official WAFA news agency said.

He said help was needed "because of the exposure of Palestinian camps to the bloody conflict in Syria."

Abbas's call came after tens of thousands of Palestinians fled the Yarmuk district of south Damascus, home to one of 12 camps in Syria which host Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

Syrian fighter jets bombed Yarmuk camp Tuesday for the second time this week after rebels made significant advances, seizing large areas within the camp, activists said.

Their offensive, which began Friday, is aimed at driving out a pro-government Palestinian faction.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and other activists in the camp said fighter jets dropped bombs on the camp Tuesday afternoon, but there was no immediate word of casualties.

Similar airstrikes on Sunday killed at least eight people in Yarmuk.

When the revolt against President Bashar Assad's rule began 21 months ago, the half-million-strong Palestinian community in Syria stayed on the sidelines.

But as the civil war deepened, most Palestinians backed the rebels, while some groups — such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command — have been fighting on the government side.

By Tuesday afternoon, the Syrian military deployed several tanks along camp's main entrance, residents said. There were no Syrian government troops in the camp and most of the fighting was between rebels and PFLP-GC gunmen, they said. The group is led by Ahmed Jibril, Assad's longtime ally.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, chief of the Observatory, said rebels were now in control of most of the camp but intense clashes were continuing in several areas.

The fighting in the camp has forced an exodus of Palestinian refugees and Syrians who came to the camp in past weeks to escape violence elsewhere in the city, according to United Nations officials.

Civilians continue to leave Yarmouk, with some heading to UNRWA installations around Damascus. Others are fleeing to other Syrian cities and many are headed to Lebanon.