THE Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) said yesterday that it would not be drawn into military action in the embattled Yarmouk refugee camp in Syria.

The PLO statement, issued late on Thursday, contradicted earlier comments by PLO envoy to Damascus Ahmad Majdalani that Palestinian groups were ready to join forces with the Syrian government to expel Islamic State (Isis) fighters from Yarmouk.

Thousands of refugees have been trapped in dire conditions during ongoing fighting over the district, which is only a few kilometres from the centre of Damascus.

Mr Majdalani’s comments had broken with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s long-standing position that Palestinians should stay out of the Syria conflict.

It was not immediately clear why Mr Majdalani, who had been sent by President Abbas to Damascus to deal with the Yarmouk crisis, had come out in support of Palestinian military involvement.

But senior PLO official Wasel Abu Yousef said that negotiating safe passage for residents and providing supplies was preferable to military action.

“Syrian army intervention would mean the complete destruction of the camp,” he said.