Secretary-General of the Syrian Opposition Coalition (SOC), Haitham Rahma, stressed that the siege imposed on al-Rukban refugee camp is a heinous crime that is taking place in full view of the world. He stressed that the UN bears full responsibility for its failure to carry out its duties towards the protection of civilians, especially residents of the refugee and IDP camps.
Rahma pointed out that thousands of refugees in al-Rukban camp are suffering severe shortages of food and medical supplies as the Assad regime tightened the blockade on the camp 10 days ago to increase the pressure on its residents.
Rahma called for urgent UN intervention to provide our people in al-Rukban camp with the necessary needs, especially with the advent of the month of Ramadan. He also stressed the need for an international stance to confront the regime’s criminality, its continued siege of the camp, and its attempts to displace and detain the residents.
Spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Jens Larcke, said that humanitarian aid convoys had not reached al-Rukban camp since September 2019.
Residents of the camp reportedly said that there are no doctors in the health unit of the camp, and that the medical team currently operating in the camp is made up of only nursing staff. They also reported difficulties in providing medicines to patients due to the lack of first aid toolkits, in addition to the scarcity of infant formula and flour.
(Source: SOC’s Media Department)
