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Russian military may send aid convoy to Syria’s al-Rukban refugee camp

Syria’s al-Rukban refugee camp is located in Al-Tanf (Homs Governorate,) which is encircled by the Syrian opposition militants

DAMASCUS, January 11. /TASS/. The Russian military from the Russian Reconciliation Center for the Conflicting Sides in Syria are negotiating to delivery humanitarian supplies to the al-Rukban refugee camp near the Syrian-Jordanian border and already prepared cargoes for shipment, the center’s representative Vladimir Meleshin told reporters on Thursday.

"The Russian Reconciliation Center has prepared food, medicine and warm clothes to be sent to the refugees of the al-Rukban camp. The convoy will include medical transport for evacuation of those critically ill. The main task now is to deliver these cargoes to destination," he stressed.

Syria’s al-Rukban refugee camp is located in Al-Tanf (Homs Governorate,) which is encircled by the Syrian opposition militants, according to Syria’s ministry of national reconciliation. In 2014, when terrorists from Islamic State (IS, a terror organization, outlawed in Russia) started penetrating in Syria, dozens of thousands of residents from Syria’s eastern provinces arrived in Al-Tanf hoping to get to Jordan from there. However, Jordan’s authorities did not admit them into the kingdom both due to security concerns and economic difficulties. This is how the al-Rukban camp appeared.

The refugees are in a very difficult situation now: the Jordanian border is closed to them, and no help is provided from there. In addition, militants from opposition groups are blocking any attempts of the refugees to leave the camp and do not allow the Syrian government’s aid convoy to enter it.

The Russian Reconciliation Center for the Conflicting Sides in Syria repeatedly stated its readiness to provide humanitarian help to the al-Rukban refugees and escort aid convoys there from the Syrian territory supplied by the UN or the Syrian government. Still, the issue of providing guarantees of security for any aid convoy within the 55-km "de-confliction zone" is pending. Sending aid convoys without such guarantees is extremely dangerous, because there are a great number of militants in the Al-Tanf area who obey only their leaders now.