President of the Syrian Opposition Coalition, Salem al-Meslet, sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, calling for urgent intervention to save the lives of displaced people in al-Rukban refugee camp and to work effectively to ensure a dignified life for them.
Al-Meslet spoke about the suffering of the residents of the camp, which has been blockaded by the Assad regime and its backers for years. He said that the camp is located in an arid no man’s land near the Jordanian border and is home to thousands of displaced Syrians. He made it clear that the suffering inside the camp has been exacerbated by the lack of food, water, baby formula, and medical supplies.
Al-Meslet pointed out that the recent weeks witnessed a decrease in the amount of water provided by UNICEF to the camp, in conjunction with a smoldering heatwave hitting the region, amid fears of the spread of epidemics and diseases.
He pointed out that these harsh conditions forced some households to leave the camp towards the regime-held areas, adding that the camp residents are now living between two dangers: slow death due to lack of water, food and medicine; and arrest, enforced disappearance, torture and death if they return to the regime-held areas.
Al-Meslet stressed that it is not possible to remain silent about the tragedy unfolding in the camp, adding that all possible efforts must be made to save the camp’s residents from dying of thirst and to increase the amount of water coming from the Kingdom of Jordan.
Al-Meslet called for exerting pressure by all possible means to put an end to the Assad regime’s blockade of al-Rukban camp, and to prevent the regime from using food and medicine as a weapon against the camp’s residents, and to allow humanitarian aid convoys to reach the camp without any conditions.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
