Palestinian President condemns Syria refugee camp shelling

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned last night the attack on a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria on Thursday which killed at least 20 people and wounded 65, a statement from his office said. Witnesses in Yarmouk camp said that mortars hit a busy street as people were preparing a Ramadan meal to break their fasting. Doctors at three nearby hospitals said at least 20 people were killed and 65 wounded. President Abbas' office stressed that the Palestinian position towards Syria was not to interfere in Syrian internal affairs, and that refugee camps in the country would remain neutral. The office of the presidency called for an end to violence in refugee camps. Yarmouk camp is the largest Palestinian refugee community and is home to more than 100,000 people. It was not immediately clear what prompted the shelling. Last week, the Syrian army bombed a hospital in Damascus' Yarmouk refugee camp, Palestinian sources had told Palestinian news agency (Ma'an). The Syrian army was targeting the hospital because medics were treating wounded from all sides, while Assad's regime only allowed its own soldiers to be treated, sources said. A Red Crescent medical complex also suffered widespread damage from shelling. There is now only one functioning hospital in Yarmouk camp.