Syrian Minister Says Military Operation Needed in Yarmouk Camp

Syrian reconciliation minister said on Wednesday said that a military operation is necessary to expel Takfiri militants from the Yarmouk camp for Palestinian refugees.

“The priority now is to expel and defeat militants and terrorists in the camp. Under the present circumstances, a military solution is necessary,” minister Ali Haidar said in Damascus.Syria minister Ali Haidar

He made the comments after meeting Palestine Liberation Organization official Ahmed Majdalani, who travelled from the West Bank for emergency talks on the situation in the embattled Yarmouk camp.

“It is not the state that has chosen this, but those who entered the camp,” added Haidar, referring to militants from the Takfiri group, ISIL.

ISIL terrorists attacked Yarmouk on April 1, and have seized large swathes of the camp, executing Palestinian fighters who sought to resist.

The group’s presence in Yarmouk has sparked international concern for the camp’s remaining residents.

The government and residents of the capital have also been rattled by the presence of ISIL militants just kilometers from the heart of Damascus.

Haidar did not spell out when a military operation might begin, or how it would be waged, but he suggested that Syrian troops could be involved.

“The Syrian state will decide whether the battle requires it,” he said, when asked if Syrian soldiers would participate in any operation.