At least 15 killed in Damascus refugee camp shelling

PanARMENIAN.Net - Shelling of the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital killed at least 15 civilians, including two children, last night.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said on Friday, August 3 that mortar shells hit the camp, on the southern outskirts of Damascus as President Bashar al-Assad's regime attempts to crush an uprising that erupted almost 17 months ago, The Telegraph said.

Rami Abdel Rahman , the NGO's director, said the shelling occurred as fighting flared between government troops and rebel fighters in the nearby Damascus neighbourhood of Tadamun.

"We demand an international investigation. We do not know the origin of the shelling," he said.

There are nearly 150,000 refugees living in the narrow streets of Yarmouk.

The Palestinian refugees in Syria have tried to stay out of the uprising, but their camp is in an area known for its support for the rebels.

The Observatory also reported heavy shelling overnight around Houla, a town in the central province of Homs where at least 108 people were massacred at the end of May, triggering international outrage.

More than 20,000 people have been killed in Syria since the anti-Assad revolt began in March 2011, according to the Observatory. There is no way to independently verify this figure, while the UN has stopped keeping count.