World Bulletin / News Desk

 A planned visit by a delegation from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to Syria to discuss the situation of the Yarmouk refugee camp was postponed upon the request of Damascus, a PLO official has said.

"Syria requested the postponement of the PLO delegation's visit to Damascus, which was scheduled to take place on Monday," leading PLO member Ahmed Majdalani told The Anadolu Agency on Monday.

Majdalani attributed the Syrian request to "internal affairs," without elaborating further.

"The delegation planned to discuss means of protecting the Palestinian civilians in the refugee camp," he added, noting that 6,000 Palestinians are still in the camp with hundreds trying to leave.

Earlier this month, violence has flared up inside the Yarmouk refugee camp when ISIL stormed the camp and clashed with Aknaf Beit Al-Maqdis group.

According to the Majdalani, at least 32 people have been killed in the violence.

Syria has been ravaged by a deadly civil war since 2011, when the regime of President Bashar al-Assad violently cracked down on anti-government demonstrations.

More than 220,000 people have been killed in the conflict to date, according to recent UN figures.

Prior to the Syrian conflict, Palestinians living in Syria were estimated at some 581,000 – one third of which had been living in Yarmouk camp, according to UN figures.

However, thousands of Palestinians in Syria have fled to neighboring Lebanon and Jordan, while hundreds of others managed to flee to the Gaza Strip as the conflict between Assad's forces and armed opposition groups raged on.