Published : 21-10-2021
Activists from Khan Eshieh camp said thieves have been burglarizing homes and stealing power cables from the camp.
The residents held local authorities and pro-regime militias responsible for the increasing property-theft and burglary targeting commercial stores and civilian property.
Over recent months, power cables have been stolen from abandoned houses and alleyways in Khan Eshieh refugee camp, where civilians’ life has already been marred by the frequent power blackouts.
Last week, Syrian police arrested three wanted criminals involved in the murder of an elderly Palestinian man in the camp. Following preliminary investigations and interrogation of witnesses, police found out that the murderer showed up at the victim’s shop shortly before he killed him. The killer confessed that other people helped him in armed robbery attack on the shop. The victim—Adnan Mousa Khuza’i, nicknamed Abu Samir—was beaten on his head to death while he was taking a siesta outside of his flea store.
According to UN data, Khan Eshieh camp lies beside the ancient ruins of Khan Eshieh, 27km south-west of Damascus. The Khan historically served as an overnight shelter for trade caravans on the road between Damascus and the southwest, and in 1948, it provided shelter for the first refugees from Palestine. The camp was established in 1949 on an area of 0.69 square kilometers with refugees originally from the northern part of Palestine.
Before the conflict in Syria, the camp was home to more than 20,000 Palestine refugees. In 2012, the farms and fields surrounding the camp became active battlegrounds in which heavy weapons were deployed, often indiscriminately. The population more than halved to 9,000.
Some of the camp's buildings and infrastructure were severely affected including some UNRWA installations; two UNRWA schools and the community centre were almost razed to the ground. In 2016, UNRWA was able to re-access Khan Esheih and the Agency was able to rehabilitate some of its installations. Residents have also slowly started to return, with the camp now accommodating 12,000 people.
Activists from Khan Eshieh camp said thieves have been burglarizing homes and stealing power cables from the camp.
The residents held local authorities and pro-regime militias responsible for the increasing property-theft and burglary targeting commercial stores and civilian property.
Over recent months, power cables have been stolen from abandoned houses and alleyways in Khan Eshieh refugee camp, where civilians’ life has already been marred by the frequent power blackouts.
Last week, Syrian police arrested three wanted criminals involved in the murder of an elderly Palestinian man in the camp. Following preliminary investigations and interrogation of witnesses, police found out that the murderer showed up at the victim’s shop shortly before he killed him. The killer confessed that other people helped him in armed robbery attack on the shop. The victim—Adnan Mousa Khuza’i, nicknamed Abu Samir—was beaten on his head to death while he was taking a siesta outside of his flea store.
According to UN data, Khan Eshieh camp lies beside the ancient ruins of Khan Eshieh, 27km south-west of Damascus. The Khan historically served as an overnight shelter for trade caravans on the road between Damascus and the southwest, and in 1948, it provided shelter for the first refugees from Palestine. The camp was established in 1949 on an area of 0.69 square kilometers with refugees originally from the northern part of Palestine.
Before the conflict in Syria, the camp was home to more than 20,000 Palestine refugees. In 2012, the farms and fields surrounding the camp became active battlegrounds in which heavy weapons were deployed, often indiscriminately. The population more than halved to 9,000.
Some of the camp's buildings and infrastructure were severely affected including some UNRWA installations; two UNRWA schools and the community centre were almost razed to the ground. In 2016, UNRWA was able to re-access Khan Esheih and the Agency was able to rehabilitate some of its installations. Residents have also slowly started to return, with the camp now accommodating 12,000 people.
