UN: Conditions in Syrian refugee camp 'beyond inhumane'

Conditions in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, Syria, are "beyond inhumane," a United Nations spokesman said, as Islamic State militants and Palestinian fighters battle for control.

The fighting in Yarmouk began last week when ISIS came into the camp and clashed with Aknaf Beit al-Maqdis, a group opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, The Associated Press reports. About 18,000 people live in Yarmouk, and an estimated 2,000 are thought to have fled. Activists say that in addition to the heavy fighting, the government has been shelling the camp and dropping barrel bombs since Sunday.

Pierre Krahenbuhl, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, told AP the situation is "completely catastrophic." There is hardly any water, food, or medicine, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates that ISIS now controls as much as 90 percent of Yarmouk. Krahenbuhl is urging local leaders who hold some influence on fighters to ask them to observe international human rights laws and protect civilians.

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