AROUND 2,000 people have been evacuated from the Yarmuk Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus after the Islamic State group (Isis) seized around half of it, an official said y­esterday.

“Around 400 families, approximately 2,000 people, were able to leave the camp on Friday and Saturday via two secure roads to the Zahira district, which is under army control,” said the Palestine Liberation Organisation’s Anwar Abdul Hadi.

Mr Abdul Hadi said that Syrian troops had helped in the evacuation as Palestinian forces battled to hold back the Isis fighters who had captured much of the camp.

Palestinian officials and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees have urged humanitarian access to the camp, where about 18,000 people remain under siege.

Palestinian officials and Syrian activists said they were working with rivals from the al-Qaida affiliate in Syria, the Nusra Front.