Palestinians back joint Yarmouk operation with Syria army: PLO

DAMASCUS - Agence France-Presse

This Feb. 24, 2014, file photo released by the UNRWA shows damage and debris on one of the main streets of the besieged Palestinian camp of Yarmouk in Damascus, Syria. AP Photo

A group of 14 Palestinian factions said April 9 they backed a joint military operation with the Syrian government to expel Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) jihadists from the Yarmouk camp in southern Damascus.
      
After a meeting of the factions in the Syrian capital, Palestine Liberation Organisation official Ahmed Majdalani said the groups supported a coordinated military effort in the camp.
     
The factions support "a security solution that will be carried out in partnership with the Syrian state and will have as its priority maintaining the security of citizens," he said.
      
"We agreed that there would be permanent cooperation with the Syrian leadership and the formation of a joint operations room with Syrian government forces and the Palestinian factions that have a significant presence in the camp or around it."       

Majdalani added that Palestinian forces would work in an "integrated" fashion "with the Syrian state to clear the camp of terrorists."        

But it was unclear whether that position was shared by the Palestinian fighters on the ground inside the camp.        

The key Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis group fighting ISIL inside Yarmouk was not present at the meeting and could not be reached for comment.
      
The group is opposed to the Syrian government and has cooperated with rebel fighters against ISIL jihadists inside Yarmouk since the extremist organisation entered the camp on April 1.