DAMASCUS, Syria, April 7 (UPI) -- The United Nations Security Council has demanded access to the Palestinian refugee camp Yarmouk in Damascus due to living conditions that are "beyond inhumane."
Officials said clashes with the Islamic State that intensified since April 1 have added more misery for the 18,000 refugees in the camp who already struggle for basic necessities, including food and water. In an emergency meeting, Pierre Krahenbuhl,the head of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, said their is "unbearable suffering" and urged humanitarian access to the camp.
"The situation has been turned upside down. Currently, it's simply too dangerous to access Yarmouk," he said. "Right now, what is on the mind of people at Yarmouk is bare survival. I just saw people waking up with so much despair in their eyes, waiting for their meager assistance."
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian U.N. ambassador, appealed to the member nations to relocate the refugees for their well being.
Established in 1957, the camp holds thousands of Palestinians and Syrians. The camp was overrun by the IS and allied Al-Nusra Front militants. Monday, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency said the lives of those in the camp are "profoundly threatened."
"Never has the hour been more desperate in the Palestine refugee camp of Yarmouk, in Damascus," the organization said.
