MOSCOW, March 12. /TASS/. Russian satellites’ images have uncovered new burial sites at the Rukban refugee camp in Syria, located on the US-controlled territory, with the overall number of graves reaching 700, the Russian and Syrian inter-agency coordination headquarters said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
"We have found three more illegal cemeteries located at the camp in direct proximity to the houses and water points, which are another source of spreading infectious diseases. Nearly 700 graves have been found in the uncovered burial sites," the statement said.
The ministry recalled that earlier a cemetery with at least 300 graves had been uncovered at the camp.
"In fact, the real situation could be even worse because several bodies of Syrians who died at the Rukban camp may have been buried in many graves," the ministry stressed, noting that the humanitarian situation at the camp continues deteriorating.
The United States is still hindering Russian and Syrian efforts on improving the situation of refugees. The Defense Ministry has once again called on the US and the United States to review their positions on the camp, noting that the Syrian authorities are ready to evacuate citizens and bring them back to their places of permanent residence.
The Rukban refugee camp emerged on the Syrian-Jordanian border in 2014 after Amman closed its border due to security and economic concerns. The area, which is controlled by illegal armed groups, is facing a severe humanitarian crisis.
On February 20, 2019 two mobile checkpoints Jleighem and Jebel al-Gurab were set up for evacuating refugees from the Rukban camp, which is located within the 55-km zone around the US Al-Tanf base.