ABU RUBAYS /Syria/, August 9. /TASS/. Authorities have provided accommodation to refugees coming to the Abu Rubays settlement in Syria’s Hama province from other parts of the country, while the Russian military has carried out a humanitarian mission to provide them with medical assistance, head of the local administration Muhammad Jas said.
"First of all, we are providing refugees with accommodation, trying to allocate whole houses to large families," he said. "These people also need medical treatment so we plan to rebuild a hospital," Jas added.
Abu Rubays did not suffer much from military activities so it has been chosen to be a temporary shelter for refugees returning to their homes in the neighboring settlements. "Our village is only 15 kilometers from here but constant fighting was going on there for the past two years and we had to flee, leaving all our possessions and documents behind. We are lucky to have found accommodation here," a refugee said.
The Russian military continues to assist refugees, a humanitarian convoy has recently brought food to the settlement.
Since the hospital has not been rebuilt yet, Russian military doctors are providing medical assistance to those who need it.
"I have huge health issues. My only goal at the moment is to return home, get medical treatment and age with dignity," an elderly refugee said.
Return of refugees
According to earlier reports, the Syrian government established a coordination center for the return of refugees headed by Local Administration Minister Hussein Makhlouf. The center is closely cooperating with a refugee headquarters set up by Russia.
The center says that Syrian refugees continue to return to places where they lived before the war and the government seeks to create conditions for them and reconstruct infrastructure facilities.
More than 120 homes were rebuilt in the past week, as well as two kindergartens, a school and an electrical substation. Meanwhile, the construction of a new residential quarter containing 16 apartment buildings has begun on the outskirts of Damascus.