BEIRUT — Hundreds of residents of a Palestinian refugee camp in the Syrian capital Damascus fled Sunday amid shelling by government forces and clashes between Islamic State fighters and Palestinian militants, activists said.

An activist based in an area just south of Damascus, Hatem al-Dimashqi, said many residents started fleeing the Yarmouk camp after midnight as the fighting let up. The camp has been subjected to intense shelling and airstrikes by the government.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and al-Dimashqi said those who fled the camp have reached the southern Damascus suburbs of Yalda, Babila and Beit Sahem, which are under rebel control.

Al-Dimashqi and Syrian state TV said as many as 2,000 people have left the camp. The activist said that many of those who fled the camp are staying in schools or abandoned homes.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said in Ramallah that residents of Yarmouk have been victimized by Syria’s civil war. Government forces and different rebel factions are clashing and “we pay the price,” he said.

He added that the Palestine Liberation Organization in Damascus has formed a “cell to handle this tragedy and they are trying to work it out with the least losses.” Abbas said: “We are in touch with our brothers there to find a way out and protect our people.”

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