Palestinians urge UN to ensure safety of besieged refugees

The Palestinian UN ambassador is urging the UN Security Council to take action to ensure safe passage for up to 18,000 Palestinians besieged in a refugee camp in the Syrian capital.
The council held an emergency meeting today on the crisis at the Yarmouk camp, which is now mainly controlled by the Islamic State group.
The Palestinian ambassador, Riyad Mansour, told reporters that saving the refugees is his government's top priority. He appealed to all nations to help the refugees relocate to safer areas in Syria or in other countries.
Mansour said about 2,000 of the estimated 18,000 refugees in Yarmouk had made it to safety on their own.

The Security Council was being briefed behind closed doors by the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Pierre Krahenbuhl.