Red Cross calls for immediate access for aid to embattled Palestinian camp in Syrian capital

FILE - This Feb. 24, 2014, file photo released by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) shows damage and debris on one of the main streets of the besieged Palestinian camp of Yarmouk in Damascus, Syria. Yarmouk was established in 1957 as a refuge for Palestinians who were forced out of their homes with the 1948 creation of Israel, and expanded with time to include thousands of Syrians as well. (AP Photo/UNRWA, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2014, file photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Palestinian residents of the besieged refugee camp of Yarmouk wait at the gate of the camp to receive aid supplies from the United Nations on the southern edge of the Syrian capital, Damascus. The deteriorating situation brought on by Syria's civil war prompted the U.N. Security Council to call an emergency meeting Monday, April 6, 2015, to discuss Yarmouk, calling for safe evacuation for the Palestinians, protection for the refugees, and humanitarian access to the camp. (AP Photo/SANA, File) (The Associated Press)

Rubble and heavy damage remain on a deserted street during a government escorted visit to Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, Syria, Thursday, April 9, 2015. Islamic State fighters overran much of the camp last week, marking the extremists' deepest foray yet into the Syrian capital. The IS incursion in the latest trial for Yarmouk and its estimated 18,000 remaining residents, who have already survived a devastating two-year government siege, starvation and disease. (AP Photo) (The Associated Press)

The International Committee of the Red Cross is calling for immediate access for humanitarian aid to an embattled Palestinian camp in the Syrian capital.

The ICRC says emergency medical care is "urgently needed" for the estimated 18,000 people still inside the Yarmouk camp, which has been engulfed by fighting since Islamic State militants last week overran much of the sprawling camp.

It says humanitarian needs "are growing by the day."

The current bout of fighting is just the latest trial for Yarmouk, where residents have already endured a two-year government siege, starvation and disease.

In a statement Thursday, the ICRC called on the armed factions to allow the "immediate and unimpeded passage" of humanitarian aid and to permit civilians who wish to flee to be able to do so.