Washington Ambassador Calls on Assad Regime Not to Obstruct Aid Access to Rukban Camp.
In a speech before the United Nations Security Council meeting on the situation in Syria, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield called on the Assad regime to cooperate with UN demands to allow commercial access to Rukban Camp and permit the delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians there across the lines. She added, « We also urge our allies and partners to demand the same. »
Since the start of the siege imposed by Assad’s forces and their militias on Rukban Camp, no food or supply materials have been allowed into the camp, which houses thousands of civilians trapped on the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi border. Recently, two trucks entered through regime brokers in exchange for large sums of money to extract herds of livestock from the camp.
Previously, dozens of camp residents protested against the tightening siege by regime forces and Iranian militias, preventing the entry of food and medicine into the camp. They held signs calling on the international community and humanitarian organizations for urgent intervention to end the suffering of the residents and ensure the entry of food and medical aid, warning of an impending humanitarian catastrophe.
Since the start of the siege imposed by Assad’s forces and their militias on Rukban Camp, no food or supply materials have been allowed into the camp, which houses thousands of civilians trapped on the Syrian-Jordanian-Iraqi border. Recently, two trucks entered through regime brokers in exchange for large sums of money to extract herds of livestock from the camp.
Previously, dozens of camp residents protested against the tightening siege by regime forces and Iranian militias, preventing the entry of food and medicine into the camp. They held signs calling on the international community and humanitarian organizations for urgent intervention to end the suffering of the residents and ensure the entry of food and medical aid, warning of an impending humanitarian catastrophe.
The Executive Director of the Syrian Emergency Organization, Dr. Moaz Mustafa, was quoted as saying that the organization is working at full strength to press for the dispatch of aid planes to the residents of the camp, but is waiting for the approval of the US White House and the State Department.
He pointed out that the organization is pushing to add an article to the US Department of Defense budget law that includes support for the ongoing process to deliver humanitarian support to the displaced people of the Rukban camp through the space allocated to US military aircraft operating in the area.
He revealed that an unnamed US State Department employee obstructed the entry of specialized medical staff, along with medical and food aid, to the Rukban camp, weeks ago, despite coordination with the US Department of Defense, which worsened the humanitarian situation in the camp.
The Commander-in-Chief of Coalition Forces in Iraq and Syria, General Joel Fowell, announced an urgent plan to rescue the residents of the Rukban camp, in addition to a long-term plan that is being worked on, without providing further explanation.
It comes at a time when living conditions in the Rukban camp are worsening day by day, due to the loss of most of the basic foodstuffs from the camp market, and the scarcity of other materials, amid warnings of catastrophic repercussions on the population, and the local council in the Rukban camp announced the removal of the sit-in tent that was near the base of Al-Tanf.
He explained this was because the people of the camp were unable to reach the place of the sit-in, due to the long distance between the Rukban camp and the location of the sit-in tent, and due to the lack of fuel in the camp, and it is expected that the local council will be dissolved and the formation of a political body will be announced.
Dozens of residents of the camp gathered at the berm separating Jordan and Syria, carrying signs that read « Save the Rukban camp from death, there is no food, there is no medicine, » and banners with the questions, « Where are the organizations?. Where is the United Nations? Where are human rights? »
The original article in ShaamNetwork in Arabic posted June 26 2024 can be found here:
Thanks to @MotsemAlbakour for translation.
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