GAZA CITY, Palestine

A total of 3,506 Palestinians have been killed in Syria since the outbreak of the country’s civil war in 2011, according to a London-based NGO. 

In a statement released Sunday, the Action Group for Palestinians of Syria (AGPS) said 462 women were among the victims.

The group said more than 1,603 Palestinian refugees, including 99 women, remain in detention by the Syrian regime authorities.

According to the NGO, some 196 Palestinian refugees died due to lack of nutrition and medical care.

More than 85,000 Palestinian refugees had fled Syria to Europe by the end of 2016, the group said.

According to UN estimates, around 450,000 Palestinian refugees still live in war-torn Syria.

Established in 2012, AGPS is a human rights watchdog that monitors the situation of Palestinian refugees in war-torn Syria.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the "Arab Spring" uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, more than a quarter of a million people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced across the war-battered country, according to the UN.

Reporting by Momen Ghorab; Writing by Mahmoud Barakat