Syria and Russia: US Disrupts a Plan to Evacuate Syrian Refugees from Rukban Camp

MOSCOW-The Syrian and Russian Joint Coordination Committees on the Repatriation of the Syrian Refugees said on Tuesday that the United States, represented by the command of US troops in the al-Tanf base, has disrupted a plan to evacuate the Syrian refugees from al-Rukban camp (near the Syrian-Jordanian borders).

The plan provides for evacuating from 2,000 to 2,500 Syrians within five-day stages until the final evacuation of all civilians who are willing to leave.

 In a joint statement, the two committees stressed that the plan was disrupted due to Washington’s failure to honor its commitments.

The American forces positioned in al-Tanf base and the US-backed terrorist groups in the area keep preventing the refugees from leaving the camp and prohibiting departure under the threat of death, according to the joint statement.

The committees called on the US forces to immediately leave the Syrian territories and let the legitimate Syrian government drive terrorists out of the area. They also called on the American side to stop hindering the Syrian government’s efforts to make the work of the constitutional committee on Syria a success.

They held the command of the American troops in al-Tanf area entirely responsible for the current dire humanitarian situation in al-Rukban camp.

The Syrian authorities have so far helped about 18,000 Syrian residents in the “camp of death” return to their homes, said the statement.

Hamda Mustafa