Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas urged the international community to help Palestinian refugees fleeing camps across Syria enter the West Bank and Gaza.

Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas urged the international community to help Palestinian refugees fleeing camps across Syria enter the West Bank and Gaza."Mahmud Abbas, president of the state of Palestine, requested Wednesday that UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the international community enable our people in Syria to enter Palestinian territory," a statement carried on the official WAFA news agency said.

He said help was needed "because of the exposure of Palestinian camps to the bloody conflict in Syria."
Abbas's call came after tens of thousands of Palestinians fled the Yarmouk camp in south Damascus, one of 12 camps in Syria which host Palestinian refugees and their descendants.

Yarmouk camp has been since Sunday witnessing violent clashes between armed groups and popular Palestinian committees.

According to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), there are 486,000 Palestine refugees living in nine official and three unofficial camps across Syria.

Abbas  also "stressed the Palestinian position of non-interference in the internal affairs of Arab countries," the statement on WAFA said.