Air raid on Damascus Palestinian camp kills eight: NGO

BEIRUT - Agence France-Presse

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Syrian warplanes killed at least eight civilians in an unprecedented air strike on a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus on Sunday, said a monitoring group.
 
"The toll may rise, because several of the injured are in a critical condition," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Right

Warplanes bombarded a Palestinian refugee camp in southern Damascus today for the first time since the start of Syria's more than 21-month conflict, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
 
"Warplanes staged an air strike on an area near Al-Bassel hospital... in Yarmuk camp, hurting several people," said the Observatory. According to initial reports cited by the watchdog, there may also have been people killed in the strike.

The air strike on Yarmuk was the sixth on Sunday on flashpoint districts in southern Damascus, the Britain-based watchdog said.
 
Warplanes also bombarded the nearby districts of Al-Hajar al-Aswad and Assali, scene of intense fighting between troops and rebels, it added.
 
"The army feels it has to step up its campaign to suppress the insurgency in southern Damascus, and that it cannot fight off rebels without resorting to air power," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman.
 
"As for the Palestinians, they are divided over the conflict, and are fighting on both sides," he added.