Senior UN official calls on all sides to respect civilians in Syria's embattled Yarmouk camp

Pierre Krahenbuhl, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), left, visits Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, April 12, 2015. Krahenbuhl visited refugees from the embattled Palestinian camp of Yarmouk in Damascus. The Palestinians fled Yarmouk, where heavy fighting has raged since Islamic State militants stormed the district more than a week ago, for a nearby government-controlled area of the Syrian capital. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

A girl holds a snack at a school, during the visit of Pierre Krahenbuhl, commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), background left, in Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, Syria, Sunday, April 12, 2015. Krahenbuhl, visited refugees fro visited refugees from the embattled Palestinian camp of Yarmouk in Damascus. The Palestinians fled Yarmouk, where heavy fighting has raged since Islamic State militants stormed the district more than a week ago, for a nearby government-controlled area of the Syrian capital. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

BEIRUT – A senior United Nations official is calling on all sides to "respect the beleaguered civilians" trapped inside an embattled Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital.

The head of the U.N. agency that supports Palestinians, Pierre Krahenbuhl, says residents of the Yarmouk camp "have suffered untold indignities." He says he is working to help provide humanitarian aid to those still inside, and to assist those who wish to temporarily leave.

The UNRWA commissioner-general is in Damascus to meet with Syrian officials and people who have fled the fighting in Yarmouk, which erupted after Islamic State militants pushed into the camp almost two weeks ago.

Khrahenbuhl says in a statement that he will meet with senior Syrian officials later Monday to discuss humanitarian access.