A sick baby girl on Thursday died in the Rukban IDPs camp near the Jordanian border due to the lack of medical care resulting from the blockade that the Assad regime is imposing on residents of the camp and its blocking of food and medical supplies.
Local activists said that Khadija Karim al-Mutlaq, a four-month-old baby girl, died after her health sharply deteriorated amid cimplete lack of medical centers in the camp.
The camp is home to tens of thousands of displaced persons, thousands of whom suffer from disabilities, including 1,460 women, 1,621 men and 4,273 children.
Poor hygiene and complete lack of medical care led to the spread of several diseases in the camp, especially with the onset of winter. Many IDPs, including children, have died in the camp over the past two months. The Emergency Response Coordinators aid group said they had documented the deaths of 14 people inside the camp as a result of the dire humanitarian conditions.
The Syrian Coalition earlier called on the international relief organizations to save children in the camp as they are “the most vulnerable,” and added: “They are waiting for someone to save them from the starvation being carried out by the Assad regime against them and against their parents.”
The Rukban IDPs camp has been under tightened blockade since June. The Assad regime and Russia have been trying to remove the camp and force its residents to enter into the so-called reconciliation agreements and eventually return to the regime-held areas. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Department)