Fighting between Syrian rebels and Palestinians loyal to Assad rages in Damascus refugee camp

Fighting between Syrian rebels and an armed group of Palestinians loyal to President Bashar Assad is raging inside a Damascus refugee camp, activists said today.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said heavy battles are under way in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, in southern Damascus.

The Observatory said the fighting is forcing Palestinian refugees and Syrians who came to Yarmouk to escape violence elsewhere in the country to flee the camp.

When the revolt against Mr Assad's rule began in March 2011, the half-million-strong Palestinian community in Syria tried to stay on the sidelines.

As the civil war deepened, most Palestinians backed the rebels, though some groups - such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command - have been fighting on the government side.