CRI听力:Situation in Palestinian Refugee Camp in Damascus 'Beyond Inhumane': UN

The United Nations is describing the situation in an embattled Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Damascus as "beyond inhumane."

This is the refugee camp which has been over-run by Islamic State militants.

Palestinian fighters and members of the so-called Free Syrian Army have been battling the militants.

The camp itself is home to some 18 thousand people, one-fifth of whom are children.

Chris Gunness is with the UN Relief Agency.

"We have not been able to send any food or any convoys into the camp since the current round of fighting started. And of course that means that there is no food, there is no water and there's very little medicine. The situation in the camp is beyond inhumane. People are hold up in their houses, there is fighting going on in the streets. There are reports of aerial bombardment. This has to stop and civilians must be evacuated."

The fighting in Yarmouk began on Wednesday after the Islamic State group muscled into the camp.

It's said to be the group's first major attack near the heart of the Syrian capital.

People living in Yarmouk had already been enduring desperate conditions before the attack, including a lack of food, medicine and water.

The conflict in Syria, which has entered its fifth year, has claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people. It has also displaced millions of others.