Activists have slammed the Russian and Syrian regime forces for ransacking the old cemetery at the Yarmouk Camp, in Damascus, in search of the remains of Israeli soldiers killed in the Battle of Sultan Yaqoub in Lebanon in 1982.
Yarmouk residents told Action Group For Palestinians of Syria that pro-regime forces cordoned off the al-Shuhadaa old cemetery with barriers, preventing them from visiting their relatives’ tombs during Eid.
Government forces further banned Palestinian delegations from reaching the cemetery on the first day of Eid and ordered that tomb visits only be allowed at the new cemetery, southwest of the camp.
The body of Israeli soldier Zachary Baumel was flown back to Israel in early April 2019.
He was one of three soldiers still listed as missing in action since the Battle of Sultan Yaqoub in Lebanon in 1982.
On Apr. 19, 2018, a military operation launched by Syria’s government battalions and their Russian abettors led to the destruction of 60 percent of civilian buildings in the Yarmouk Camp. Dozens of civilians were killed and hundreds were injured in the offensive.
This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
