MOSCOW, March 21. /TASS/. Russia and Syria are calling on the Jordanian government to join the effort on evacuating the Rukban refugee camp, the heads of the Russian and Syrian inter-agency coordination headquarters, Mikhail Mizintsev and Hussein Makhlouf, said in a joint statement on Thursday.
"The camp’s evacuation will give an extra impetus for Syrian refugees living in the Kingdom to return home and this is certainly economically beneficial for Jordan. We call on the Jordanian leadership to join the process and provide every possible assistance for rescuing people at the Rukban camp as soon as possible," the statement said.
The Jordanian leadership has opened the Nasib border crossing on the Syrian border, thus enabling more than 100,000 Syrians to come back to Syria, according to the document. Throughout the civil war, Jordan has hosted nearly one million Syrians, providing them with all necessary living conditions.
At the same time, Russia and Syria do not understand the stance of the United States, which "has been persistently stonewalling the implementation of the initiative on evacuating the camp and its residents, who find themselves in humiliating and inhuman conditions, to their motherland."
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 March 5, the Russian Defense Ministry said that a cemetery with 300 fresh graves had been found near the camp. According to the ministry, the camp has lost its status to have been turned into a "reservation where hostages are held by force." The Russian Defense Ministry said most of the shelters in the camp were unlivable in wintertime, the sanitary conditions were appalling and food and other goods could be purchased only at improvised outdoor bazaars controlled by the militants. Later, Russian satellites’ images uncovered new burial sites at the Rukban refugee camp, with the overall number of graves reaching 700, the Russian and Syrian inter-agency coordination headquarters said.