PLO accuses Syria of crimes against humanity

The UNRWA says refugee camp almost completely deserted and wants access to disturbed areas.

An assault by Syrian security forces on a Palestinian refugee camp in the coastal city of Latakia amounts to a crime against humanity,a senior official in the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said.

The shelling is taking place using gunships and tanks on houses built from tin,on people who have no place to run to or even a shelter to hide in,PLO Secretary General Yasser Abed Rabbo said. This is a crime against humanity.

Residents of Latakia say Syrian security forces have been targeting areas where demonstrators have been protesting against President Bashar al-Assad’s rule.

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United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA),the UN agency that cares for Palestinian refugees,said its latest reports indicated that al-Raml camp,home of 10,000 registered refugees,was now almost completely deserted.

On Monday,the UNRWA reported that four refugees had been killed and 17 wounded in the violence. Our fear is that without access,the figures are higher,but we simply don’t know,Chris Gunness,the UNRWA spokesman in Jerusalem,said.

It is obviously been the scene of a security or military operation. We remain extremely concerned. The UNRWA needs to get in there. We need urgent humanitarian access,he said.

Things get more and more grim and worrying by the minute. A forgotten population has now become a disappeared population,he said.