Ahmed Baccora, Coordinator of the Working Group for Refugees and Displaced Persons in the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), stated that the Al-Rukban refugee camp, near the Jordanian border, has been enduring severe humanitarian conditions since 2014. These conditions are exacerbated by the harsh geography and weather of the region, as well as the Assad regime’s efforts to block humanitarian and medical aid from reaching the camp’s residents.
In a press statement, Baccora highlighted that the Assad regime is inflicting collective punishment on the displaced people in the camp because they are supporters of the Syrian revolution. Additionally, the regime is attempting to extort money from them in exchange for allowing aid into the camp and to blackmail the international community during negotiations with the Syrian opposition.
Baccora noted that despite international calls for humanitarian aid to reach Al-Rukban camp, these appeals have not been answered due to the regime’s intransigence and the actions of Iranian militias. He emphasized that this is another war crime in the long list of atrocities committed by the regime against the Syrian people.
Baccora expressed his astonishment at the calls for the return of refugees, given the ongoing situation that demonstrates the Assad regime’s continued bloody policies towards civilians and internally displaced persons. He stressed that a neutral or safe environment, necessary for the dignified voluntary return of refugees as stipulated in UN Resolution 2254, remains impossible under current conditions.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
