The Latakia camp ( ar, مخيم اللاذقية) is an "unofficial"

Palestinian refugee camp Camps are set up by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to accommodate Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA, who fled or were expelled during the 1948 Palestinian ...

located within the municipal boundaries of

Latakia , coordinates = , elevation_footnotes = , elevation_m = 11 , elevation_ft = , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code = Country code: 963 City code: 41 , geocode ...

on the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...

coast. Established in 1955-1956 on an area of 220,000 square meters, most of the refugees originate from the city of

Jaffa Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...

and villages in northern

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. As of June 2002, the number of registered refugees living in Latakia camp is 6,354. Fishing provides a small income for many refugees. Work as casual labourers in the port and seasonal employment in the tourism sector are also common. The

United Nations Relief and Works Agency The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 ...

(UNRWA) is working on rehabilitating shelters and upgrading the sewage system in the camp. UNRWA operates four schools in the camp and constructed a women's programme center with contributions from the government of

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1997 and a new school with contributions from the government of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

in 2001.

2011 Syrian government attack

On August 15, 2011, during the Siege of Latakia the camp was shelled by Syrian government forces, forcing residents to flee.

References

External links

articles from UNRWA
{{Palestinian refugee camps, state=collapsed Populated places established in 1955 Palestinian refugee camps in Syria Latakia 1955 establishments in Syria