Syrian activists have launched an online campaign to save tens of thousands of civilians currently trapped in al-Rukban refugee camp near the Syrian-Jordanian border. The Assad regime has imposed a blockade on the camp for over two weeks, causing severe shortages of food and medical supplies leading to the death of 14 people, including four children.
In posts published on social media sites under the hashtag ‘save al-Rukban refugee camp,’ organizers of the campaign called on the international community and humanitarian organizations to take urgent action to rescue some 70,000 civilians trapped in the camp. The Assad regime has been blocking the entry of aid convoys to the camp.
“Some 70,000 displaced people are the risk of death in the desert area. The situation has further worsened following the closure of the UNICEF-supported medical centers and the prevention of the ill people from entering Jordan,” activists said.
The Syrian Coalition on Friday called upon the international community to take urgent action to save the displaced people in Al-Rukban camp and to ensure adequate, sustained healthcare. It stressed that real pressure needs to be put on the Assad regime to end the blockade and allow unrestricted, unconditioned humanitarian access.
The Coalition said that “action needs to be urgently taken to save children living in the camp from the Assad regime’s plans to starve them and their families, especially those who are in urgent need for specialized medical care and surgical operations.”
Yazan Aliwi, Director of the only clinic in the camp, earlier said that 14 people died due to lack of medical care in the camp, including four children, two women, three men, and five elderly people.
Head of the local council in the camp, Abu Ahmed Derbas al-Khalidi, said that the Assad regime demands that residents of the camp agree to forced settlement agreements and return to the areas under its control. He added that the United Nations “did not lift a finger” to relieve residents of the camp who are suffering increasing shortage of food, especially infant formula. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)
