Breaking News English

The United Nations has made a [plea / please] for humanitarian access to the besieged Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in the [suburban / suburbs] of Damascus. The UN is concerned about the [flight / plight] of around 18,000 Palestinian refugees holed [down / up] in the camp. Many of Yarmouk's residents fled after the group ISIS invaded last Wednesday and [overrun / overran] the camp. Jordan’s Ambassador to the UN Dina Kawar called "for the protection [by / of] civilians in the camp" and for "humanitarian access to the area [including / inclusive] …life-saving assistance". [Another / Other] UN spokesperson Pierre Krahenbuhl described [the / a] situation as "more desperate than ever". He said: "What civilians in Yarmouk are most concerned about right now is [bare / bear] survival".

Yarmouk was established in 1957 to [home / accommodate] the huge influx of Palestinian refugees from Israel. It became [home / house] to the largest Palestinian refugee community in Syria. Before the [recently / recent] ISIS incursion, [around / round] 160,000 people lived there. Life in the camp had already become intolerable for most residents [followed / following] 18 months of bombing and a [siege / sage] because of Syria's civil war. Many parts of the camp now [resemble / semblance] a ghost town, with shells of bomb-blasted buildings and a [civilian / civil] population that has fled. News agencies report that ISIS now controls about 90 per cent [for / of] the camp. Syrian authorities are worried ISIS could use it as a springboard to launch attacks on [the / a] capital Damascus.