Opposition fighters shelled a government-held neighborhood in the northern city of Aleppo early Saturday, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, Syrian state television and an activist group reported. The violence in northern Syria came as the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Pierre Krahenbuhl, is to undertake an "urgent mission" to Damascus later Saturday amid concerns over the situation in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk that members of the Islamic State group captured most of last week. In Aleppo, the shelling on the predominantly Christian and Armenian neighborhood of Suleimaniyeh on Saturday morning killed six, wounded more than 50 and damaged several building, state TV reported. The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists around the country, said the shelling killed three and wounded "tens." Syrian rebels have shelled residential areas in government-held parts of the contested city in the past, killing hundreds of people in the attacks. Aleppo, Syria's largest city and its former commercial capital, became a key front in the country's civil war after rebels launched an offensive there in July 2012. Meanwhile, Krahenbuhl of the U.N. agency known as UNRWA will consult with Syrian and U.N. officials in Damascus about the humanitarian consequences and ways to support civilians in the Yarmouk camp, agency spokesman Chris Gunness said. Gunness said in a statement that there are deepening concerns for the safety and protection of some 18,000 Palestinian and Syrian civilians, including 3,500 children, in Yarmouk who continue to be threatened in the area. Islamic State fighters overran much of Yarmouk last week, establishing a foothold in the Syrian capital for the first time. The incursion is the latest trial for Yarmouk's residents, who have already suffered through a devastating two-year government siege, starvation and disease. Residents say there is barely enough food and water, and hospitals have long run out of drugs and supplies. The visit also comes amid concerns that government forces will launch a military operation in Yarmouk to evict militants. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/127401.aspx
