Syria fires more Scud missiles as refugee projections climb

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

The head of NATO condemned the Syrian government's return to firing Scud-type missiles yesterday, saying they were "acts of a desperate regime approaching collapse."

NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that surveillance captured evidence of the firing of fresh rounds of missiles yesterday morning, Reuters reports, while American officials confirmed independently to The New York Times that the Scud missiles had resumed after an apparent lull from their initial use last week.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem denied the reports as "untrue rumors," according to the Times.

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CBS reports that a half-dozen Scuds were fired overnight from an Army base near Damascus toward a nearby rebel base.

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Gen. Rasmussen's comments were echoed in the worries of Syrian rebel chief Salim Idris, who told CBS News that he is "very afraid" President Bashar al-Assad will resort to firing chemical weapons using Scuds. He said his contacts still with the regime said that the Syrian Army is preparing to use the missiles in the rebel-controlled northwest.

There is not much additional concrete information about the use of Scud missiles in Syria, CBS notes, because they are "mobile" and it is "hard to pinpoint from where they were fired." They are also not very accurate.

CNN reports that analysts believe that the Assad regime has as many as 400 Scud missiles on hand.

Rasmussen cited the past 24 hours' events today as he defended the NATO deployment of Patriot antimissile systems along the Syrian-Turkish border.

"The fact that such missiles are used in Syria emphasizes the need for effective defense protection of our ally Turkey," he told reporters today, according to Reuters. "The recent launch of missiles has not hit Turkish territory but of course there is a potential threat and this is exactly the reason why NATO allies decided to deploy Patriot missiles in Turkey, for a defensive purpose only."

In a move heavily criticized by Syria, Iran, and Russia, NATO recently approved the placement of an American, Dutch, and German Patriot antimissile system along the border of NATO member Turkey. The deployment of the battery requires troops to operate the missiles, as well – the US is sending 400 to the area, according to The New York Times.

Meanwhile, the United Nations revised its refugee projection numbers again – at least the fourth time it has done so – bringing the estimate up to 1 million in the next six months, according to a separate New York Times report.

Panos Moumtzis, the UN regional coordinator for Syrian refugees, said the new forecast was based on the fact that 2,000 to 3,000 Syrians are fleeing across national borders every day. Mr. Moumtzis added that the number of refugees could reach 1.85 million if there were a mass exodus from the country, the Times reports.

Radhouane Nouicer, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Syria, said yesterday that "there are nearly no more safe areas where people can flee and find safety."

The UN is seeking $1 billion for refugees outside Syria and $519 million to boost its aid provisions for 4 million people inside Syria – 20 percent of the country's population.

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Palestinians begin returning to Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria

• A daily summary of global reports on security issues.

Refugees have started returning to the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in Syria after fighting between rebels and government-allied forces sent them fleeing, but the status of the Palestinian refugees, along with hundreds of thousands of others displaced by the Syrian conflict, remains a top concern for observers outside the country.

The Associated Press reports that, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, "hundreds of people have returned" to Yarmouk after fighting between rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad drove out as many as two-thirds of the camp's 150,000 residents by United Nations estimates.

The battle at Yarmouk, located in southern Damascus, began Dec. 14, as pro-Assad Palestinian fighters attacked anti-Assad Palestinian rebels based in the camp. Al Jazeera English reported yesterday that although Syrian troops did not participate in the fighting within the camp, they provided support to the pro-Assad fighters, cutting off the camp from the outside and launching air strikes into the camp, which reportedly killed at least eight people on Dec. 16.

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Al Jazeera noted that pro-Assad newspaper Al-Watan reported earlier this week that the government was preparing for a major assault on Yarmouk.

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AP adds that while fighting has eased, some rebels still remain in the camp. Damascus-based Palestinian official Khaled Abdul-Majid told the AP that Cairo-based Palestinian leaders are negotiating the rebels' exit. Palestinian refugees in Syria have been divided over which side to ally themselves with in the ongoing civil war.

Hundreds of thousands of refugees have been affected by the conflict. Some 1 million people are expected to have fled Syria by mid-2013, and another 2 million have already been displaced within the country, reports BBC. The UN has issued an appeal for $1.5 billion for relief efforts in Syria.

The UN has registered more than half a million refugees so far, with between 2,000 and 3,000 arriving every day in countries neighboring Syria.

"Unless these funds come quickly, we will not be able to fully respond to the life-saving needs of civilians who flee Syria every hour of the day – many in a truly desperate condition," Panos Moumtzis of the UNHCR said.

"We are constantly shocked by the horrific stories refugees tell us," he added. "Their lives are in turmoil. They have lost their homes and family members. By the time they reach the borders, they are exhausted, traumatised and with little or no resources to rely on.

UN officials said they would need to provide food, shelter, medicines and even schools for them over the next year.

Syria is home to nearly half a million Palestinian refugees living in 12 camps around the country, including Yarmouk, according to the AP. Al Arabiya reports that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas yesterday called on the UN to help the Palestinian refugees displaced by the fighting in Syria to return to Gaza and the West Bank.

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