Why Did US Ignore the Rakban Camp In Syria?
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Roshan Amiri
- . September 22, 2022
- . Update: September 22, 2022 11:03 pm
It seems that the Rukban refugee camp that is located close to an American military base will see none of the whooping aid that the US intends to provide the Syrian population.
The US has promised $756 million as humanitarian assistance package that promises to ‘touch the lives of Syrians in all 14 governorates.’ Apparently, this camp is under the Russian and Syrian Al Assad regime’s blockade. This is one reason this camp has not received any major aid convoy for the last three months.
As Rukban is located within a safe zone, it does not fall under the American pruview of help. Established by the US and Russia long back, it falls near the Jordanian-Iraqi border, about 35 kilometers from the US Garrison at Al Tanf.
At the moment, aid to the camp can only be given with the permission of the regime that has blockaded it. In 2016 also, the Jordanian government had cut down financial aid to Damascus based agencies under the UN umbrella.
Read | Turkey strikes northern Syria regime outpost, kills 3
Despite the desperate situation in which residents of Rukban live, US has not been able to extend them a helping hand. Meanwhile, the residents of Rukban live with severe shortages of food and medical supplies. The camp has largely relied on illegal smuggling from regime-held territories in Syria to get basic survival necessities, according to the Syrian Emergency Task Force, which has worked directly with Rukban.
“The Biden administration remains committed to increasing humanitarian access to all parts of Syria. We continue to urge the Assad regime and Russia to allow life-saving aid to reach the people of Rukban,” a State Department representative has said to the media. Rukban’s population is made up entirely of civilians, more than half of which are children under the age of 12, according to the Syrian Emergency Task Force.
Assad regime and Russia continue to deny the needs of this displacement camp, because of its refusal to call Assad’s presence as legitimate.
