Damascus - Three Palestinian refugees were severely burned and 25 others, mostly children, were treated for smoke inhalation and minor burns in a refugee camp on the Syrian-Iraqi border, a statement issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Wednesday. The statement said seven tents were burnt to the ground at al- Tanaf refugee checkpoint, some 190 miles north-east of Damascus. The fire, which started at 9 pm Tuesday (1800 GMT), was spread by strong winds. A total of 30 people from seven families were directly affected by the fire.
The statement said the refugees responded quickly to the fire, rapidly dismantling an additional 14 tents to prevent the fire from doing further damage, and the Palestinian Red Crescent treated the injured.
This is the second fire to break out at al-Tanaf refugee camp.
The cause of the fire is still unconfirmed, but one of the residents told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the cause was an electrical short.
Laurens Jolles, the UNHCR representative in Syria, said "this is an example of how inappropriate and dangerous this place is for refugees to live. It underlines the need to move these people to an appropriate and safe place."
There are 389 people living at al-Tanaf border, the majority women and children, with the UNHCR and UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) providing food and other assistance.
At least 1,200 Palestinians, who had fled violence in their former safe havens in Iraq, are currently stranded at al-Tanaf and al-Waleed border points, the statement said.
Palestinians began flocking to al-Tanaf last May, but the Syrian Foreign Ministry announced later it would not allow additional Palestinians from Iraq to enter its territory to avoid a flood of refugees into the country, which already hosts about 500,000 Palestinians and more than 1.5 million Iraqis.
