Islamic state is now just five kilometres away from the Syrian President's Presidential Palace after militants invaded a sprawling Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus.

The islamic group and members of the al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra are believed to have taken control of up to 90 per cent of the Yarmouk camp, where over 18,000 mostly Palestinian men, women and children remain trapped by regime soldiers.

Both groups have fought fiercely against each other in the past but appear to be working together during the Yarmouk assault.

The camp is now also reportedly being shelled by forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said five barrel bombs had been dropped on the camp on Monday morning, bringing the total number over the past three days to 25 dead.

Chris Gunness, a spokesman for the UN agency that supports Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA, described the situation inside as beyond “inhumane”. The UN Security Council convened an emergency meeting to assess the rapidly deteriorating conditions within the camp and appealed for the safe evacuation of refugees.

Pierre Krahenbuhl, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, called the situation "completely catastrophic”


.Yarmouk has been under a government siege for nearly two years, leading to civilians starving as aid workers struggle to distribute food assistance inside the camp. The agency said that women found shot at by snipers as they tried to gather plants to feed their staving children.At its peak, the camp was home to 160,000 refugees who fled the area after fighting broke out between rebels and pro-Assad fighters. Only the most vulnerable remain trapped in the camp.