Al-Yarmouk Night: Security Trespass, Moment of Waiver & Major Battle under Way

Soumayya Ali

December 19 night wasn't a normal one at the Al-Yarmouk Camp to the South of Damascus.

The camp witnessed violent clashes between members of the several armed groups and others of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLO) - General Command, who were obliged to fight after the other Palestinian factions chose self-distancing under the pretext of unwilling to "militarize the camp", the Front's Chief in Lebanon, Abu Imad Ramez, told Al-Manar website. That night wasn't "surprising" for the Palestinian factions because they have already formed the so-called popular committees to protect the neighborhoods of the camp that is located in a close area to the regions where armed groups are active, such as Al-Tadamon and Al-Hajar Al-Asswad. But the committees' goal, to keep the camp aside from what is going on inside Syria, became extremely difficult for Damascus, the capital, is considered a strategic point for the armed groups.

Palestinians in Syria: Center of Equilibrium

The Popular Front- General Command recognized since the beginning of the crisis in Syria that "there are some sides that are willing to make the Palestinians a bridge on which they pass to topple the regime," according to Abu Imad Ramez. Abusing by this sectarian elements in the camp, besides the extremist Jihadist thoughts sneaking into some groups in the camp that is composed of a mixture of Syrians and Palestinians, that’s because of "social melting between Syrians and Palestinians as a result of intermarriage, which urged some Palestinians to take some stances from the ongoing events, and believe that they are supporting the Syrian people throughout fighting," all according to Ramez.
On another level, the front has its own approach towards the crisis that a Palestinian, who enjoys all his civil rights in Syria, is -at the same time- not allowed to participate in the political issues such as participating in the elections, thus “the crisis blasting in the country is not of his business, and he has to stay aside from the events, as a symbol of faithfulness to the Syrian leadership that offered him what wasn't offered to his peers in all other Arab countries." In the same context, Ramez asks: "Am I allowed, as a Palestinian, and after all the massacres committed against me, plus being displaced from my land, to stand on the same side with the countries supporting Israel to confront and topple the Syrian regime?"

The Night during which Armed Groups Entered the Camp: Security Trespass... The Front Fought until the Moment of Blockade in the Al-Khalsa

The Front's Chief in Lebanon, Abu Imad Ramez, cannot talk about what took place on the night of December 19 in Al-Yarmouk Camp without remembering the June 2011 incident in Al-Khalsa headquarter (which is one of the Front's headquarters in the camp). At that time, some armed members attacked the headquarter "which was burned during when the Secretary General of the Front, Ahmad Jebril, was in it." Meanwhile, the message addressed to the Front was delivered, implying that "the Palestinians must be a part of the problem in Syria," which drove some fourteen Palestinian factions to form the Popular Committees to protect the camp.

From this point, Abu Imad Ramez starts talking about what took place on December 19. He stated that "the battles erupted between December 15 and December 16 when the bombs reached the depth of the camp. A group of the popular committees, which is not related to the Popular Front as reported by some media outlets, was related to the Free Syrian Army. Unfortunately, they entered through the Palestine Street, overlooking the Al-Tadamon, the streets where the Front's members do not act. Thus, the trespass was on the security level, rather than being on the military."

Ramez classifies the attack among "preparing to the battle of liberating Damascus: especially that the Syrian army didn't show in the camp in the previous night, and the popular committees had never been ready to attack even though the camp is located near the regions of conflict."

Ramez narrates the events of the battle stating that "the Popular Front- General Command stayed alone in the battlefield, in some of the camp neighborhoods reaching the Al-Khalsa Association, separate from the Al-Hajar Al-Asswad region by the Al-Thalatheen Street." There, according to him, the armed members attacked the insides of the camp, and as a result of the bombing, the camp residents started fleeing it. "The Al-Kahlsa Association became isolated, and attacked by more than 2000 gunmen. Our mates there reported that the gunmen's wounded members were left on the ground, and some of them were carrying swords. Our only choice was that the all will be martyred. Therefore, we sent a group led by our Military Chief in Lebanon, Nidal Abu Nawras, who was visiting his family in Syria, and he helped evacuating those under siege in the Association, but was sniped and martyred thereafter."

Shrourou in Egypt: Abusing Relativity with Ahmad Jibril to Promote Dissidence

Upon talking about what is reported regarding the dissidence taking place in the Front's body, clear agitation appears in the words of Abu Imad Ramez who demands "seeing those dissents and getting introduced to them." As for the information reporting the dissidence of Ahmad Jibril's nephew, Firas Shrourou, Abu Imad asserts that "it is all about that this man posted his opinion on his Facebook page, but the Lebanese MP Nouhad Al-Mashnouq abused this by showing it in an interview of which he was a guest on Al-Arabiyya Channel to say that even Ahmad Jibril's nephew seceded. While Shrourou himself denied this, stating that what was posted on his page isn't but a personal point of view."

To support his sayings, Abu Imad says that "Firas Shrourou isn't a full-time member of the Popular Front- General Command, rather he is the Director of the Operations of the Islamic Bank. And since the eruption of the events in Syria, Shrourou had moved to Egypt." However, Ramez doesn't deny some dissidence that took place, but he emphasizes that this "doesn't affect the level of the Front's coherence since the main body is still coherent."

An Upcoming War in Al-Yarmouk: The Regular Army is Alone in the Battle of Protecting the Capital

As for the moment of restoring cautious calm in Al-Yarmouk, Abu Imad attributes it to the "calls by some Palestinian Factions to the armed groups such as the Free Army and the Al-Nusra Front, mentioning that it is necessary to leave the camp and end up all the armed appearances." He doesn't exclude a major battle inside the camp in a certain time that might not be far, proofing that "the armed groups are willing to control it, and they still exist in it till the moment." However, he asserts that the Front's role as a partner in the fights is over "since it is agreed upon by all the factions, and the issue now is under the regime's responsibility, which promised that in case the armed groups had totally left the camp, then there won't be any security or military presence in the camp."

In this context, a Syrian source emphasized to Al-Manar website that there is also political goal behind the armed groups' seeking control over Al-Yarmouk and is represented by "showing that Syria, that supported the Palestinian resistance, is now taking revenge on the Palestinians and Hamas Movement's stance toward the crisis, plus saying that Syria, that didn't fire any bullet on the Golan, is firing on the Palestinians." According to the source, Palestinians are gathered to join the battle of controlling the camp as a door to enter the capital, Damascus.

The same source sees that this will represent the main pillars of a coming war between the Syrian army and the armed groups in Al-Yarmouk, which will "take the form of guerilla warfare. There is no doubt the Syrian army has its special tactics, but they will be under the conditions of the tactics adopted by the guerillas, in addition to that the army will besiege the camp and oblige the armed members to enter it under heavy fires."

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