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Rukban camp has no official status because of US military base nearby — Russian general

Because it has no official status and security guarantees, state and civic organizations cannot help the people in need

MOSCOW, March 19./ASS/. The Syrian Rukban camp has no official status because of the US Al-Tanf base located 55 kilometers away from it, the head of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Warring Parties, Major-General Viktor Kupchishin, said on Tuesday.

"Because of the presence of US military facilities and illegal armed units supported by the US in the Al-Tanf area, the Rukban camp has not become a full-value site housing temporarily displaced persons, having an official status and supplied in accordance with standards of the UN and other international organizations," he told a briefing.

Because it has no official status and security guarantees, state and civic organizations cannot help the people in need, Kupchishin explained.

"The US is ignoring these circumstances, advancing different demands regarding terms of evacuation of civilians from the Rukban camp, but they themselves render no humanitarian assistance to the inhabitants of the camp," the general said.