Lethal air attacks by the Syrian government on Palestinian refugees as well as deaths caused by fighting with the armed opposition represented a "significant and alarming escalation" of the conflict in Syria, the United States said Monday, dpa reported.
State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland cited reports that dozens of civilians including women and children had been killed or wounded on Sunday in aerial bombardments as well as in fighting between Syrian government and rebels in Yarmouk.
Yarmouk, located in Damascus, is the largest Palestinian refugee camp in Syria and home to 150,000 refugees.
"These latest attacks mark a significant and alarming escalation of the conflict in Syria," Nuland said in a statement. "All parties must stop unlawful attacks on civilians and comply with international law."
There are some 500,000 Palestinians in Syria, whose loyalties are divided between the government and the opposition.
In her daily briefing to reporters, Nuland said that the attacks by the government on Yamouk undermined calls by Syrian Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa for a "historic settlement" and the formation of a national unity government. She said the attacks showed that there has been no change in "the regime's behaviour, including the brutality it's inflicting on its own people."
The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attacks on Yarmouk continued Monday, killing a child and wounding several others. Many families have fled the camp for other parts of Damascus.
Rebels said they stormed the headquarters of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, headed by regime ally Ahmad Jebril.
Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem, in a letter addressed to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, insisted that the "Palestinians must not harbour terrorist groups inside the al-Yarmouk camp."