Published : 24-02-2022
Headstones in the eastern cemetery of Khan Eshieh Camp have been stolen by anonymous gangsters.
A resident of the camp said he reached out to the police station but the thieves have not been caught so far.
The residents held local authorities 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 Camp refugee camp, where civilians’ life has already been marred by the frequent power blackouts.
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.
Headstones in the eastern cemetery of Khan Eshieh Camp have been stolen by anonymous gangsters.
A resident of the camp said he reached out to the police station but the thieves have not been caught so far.
The residents held local authorities 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 Camp refugee camp, where civilians’ life has already been marred by the frequent power blackouts.
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.
