Islamic State militants reportedly torched tons of food en route to starving Palestinian refugees at Yarmouk Camp in Damascus, the capital of Syria, reports the Kurdish media network RUDAW.
“The convoy carrying the supplies was forced to stop by ISIS fighters in the Syrian city of Halab,” writes RUDAW. “A short time later, ISIS posted images of extremists burning the food aid on the group’s social media accounts.”
The reason? Despite the markings indicating otherwise, ISIS claimed the food was non-halal, meaning food not permissible under Islamic law.
“The food, especially meat and chicken, was not prepared according to Islamic codes and it is not halal,” posted an ISIS leader from the Syrian city of Raqqa.
Photos show ISIS militants emptying trucks filled with boxes of chicken labeled "Koch Foods," a U.S. poultry company. "Abu Mohammed Hussam, an activist with the Syrian group Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently (RBSS), said militants noticed the meat, while halal, was from an American company and immediately destroyed it," reported The Independent.
Turkish journalist Mete Sohtaoğlu, who is based in Istanbul, posted images of the event via Twitter.
"#ISIS burned #US food support to Syria because it's not 'halal.'"
According to the UN Refugee Agency, more than 12.2 million people in Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance, 5.6 million of which are children.
On April 1, Islamic State militants infiltrated and seized the 18,000-strong Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, reported MRCTV, marking the terrorist group’s deepest foray into the Syrian capital yet.