1000-plus Palestinians killed in Syria

Around 1200 to 1300 Palestinians are confirmed killed and as many missing in Syria during the ongoing conflict, says the Palestinian Embassy in Damascus.

Syria has been grappling with a deadly crisis since March 2011. The violence fuelled by Takfiri groups has so far claimed the lives of over 200,000 people, according to reports.

During the initial stages of the crisis, Palestinians in Syria remained relatively uninvolved, said head of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) delegation to Syria Ahmad Majdalani.

The situation, however, changed when armed groups moved into the Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus, directly involving the camp in the war.

In February, the United Nations warned that food and basic supplies were running dangerously low in the camp.

Majdalani said that the PLO had managed to transfer thousands of Palestinian to three main camps in the wake of the destruction of several refugee camps.

Up to 600,000 Palestinian refugees lived in Syria prior to the conflict. The United Nations Palestine refugee agency UNRWA, however, has estimated that more than half of the number have been forced to leave their homes in the country due to violence there.