Ahmed Jibril is still 'looking after Palestinian affairs in Syria' Beirut – Georges Chahine The secretary-general of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine General Command (PFLP-GC), Ahmed Jibril, is still in Damascus, accompanied by the members of the organisation’s politburo. Sources have told Arabstoday that contrary to reports, the PFLP-GC leader has not fled to Tartus with his son. The sources added that Jibril was “closely following” military operations and “looking after Palestinian affairs in Syria in general” as well as “conditions in Damascus, and especially at the Yarmouk refugee camp.”
The denial comes after foreign news agencies claimed that Jibril and his son had moved to the northern coastal city of Tartus, to be under the protection of pro-regime communities controlling the predominantly Alawite Mediterranean coast of Syria.
However, Arabstoday has learnt that Jibril was "at his office on Sunday morning, working with a number of his senior advisers and leaders of Palestinian factions towards restoring calm to the Yarmouk refugee camp." Yarmouk is the largest refugee camp for Palestinians in the Arab world, housing around 500,000 Palestinians.
Attempts to restore calm in the camp were aimed at preventing it from being "drawn into the confrontations" taking place in a specific area. Sources explained that the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and some Palestinian groups has stepped up their efforts to use the camp en route to the Syrian capital.
The sources added that Syrian opposition forces were "controlling" the areas of al-Qadam, al-Hajar al-Aswad and their perimeters, following "violent clashes" with army forces. The rebels were seeking control of the refugee camp "to reach the heart of the Syrian capital quickly," especially the districts of al-Midan and al-Zahra,” the sources said.
These developments coincide with reports of violent fighting in which the Syrian opposition, aided by a brigade of Palestinian fighters known as the Storm Brigade, were able to gain partial control of the camp.
Palestinian sources in eastern-Saida, in the south of Lebanon, told Arabstoday about a huge exodus of Palestinians from Syria and into Lebanon, with just over 2000 Palestinian families arriving in to southern Lebanon.
Syrian state television had reported a PFLP source's denial of reports that the opposition was in control of the Yarmouk refugee camp. The Syrian and Arab News Agency also said that "Palestinian popular committees" had accused media outlets that "spoke of the camp falling into the hands of the terrorists" of being "one of the arms and tools of terror" and "part of the operations room of international terrorism targeting Syria and the Palestinian people." SANA branded these outlets as “suspicious.”
The local committees at the camp have also renewed their assertion that they will "firmly confront all terrorist attempts aimed at casting Palestinians into the Syrian crisis, dislocating them and dispersing them to faraway exiles."
The committees added: "With the escalation of armed terrorist attacks, especially targeting civilians in Syria, armed terrorist groups have mobilised their elements to the areas of al-Hajar al-Aswad and Yelda near the Yarmouk camp on the al-Salaseen and al-Uruba roads where they began to conduct sniper and bombing operations against Palestinians in the Yarmouk camp.”
Hossam Arafat, the PFLP-GC's politburo member and top official in Palestine, has also denied press reports of Jibril’s departure from Damascus, describing the rumours as being part of "psychological warfare" conducted by "western forces and their outposts in the Arab region" which he said were "seeking to destroy Syria by all military, security, political, media and psychological means."
Arafat also denied rumours that PFLP-GC fighters and their family were being moved from Syria and Lebanon to Iraq in coordination with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government.