KUWAIT CITY (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th March, 2019) The United States' actions with regard to Syria's Rukban refugee camp seem to indicate that Washington is using the facility to justify its presence in the war-torn Arab country, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday.
According to the Russian foreign minister, the United States refused to allow humanitarian aid to reach the camp unless it went through US-backed militants.
"The fact the US refused [to let the aid through], the fact that it [the United States] demanded only a humanitarian convoy from Damascus and the fact that it does not allow people to leave � turning them, in fact, into hostages � gives me the unpleasant impression that the United States needs this refugee camp only to justify its illegal military presence there," Lavrov said at a press conference.
He pointed out that, according to a recent poll, 95 percent of residents of the camp expressed a wish to return home.
Lavrov said that the Russian military along with the Syrian government had organized two humanitarian corridors to ensure safe passage for the refugees.
"However, now the United States is telling us that they will not allow people to leave the camp," Lavrov added.
The Rukban camp, which houses about 40,000 displaced people, is located in the southern part of Syria, not far from Jordan. The area that became a refugee camp for Syrian residents back in 2014 is now the US-controlled zone.
In January, the World Health Organization described people residing in the camp as "trapped," adding that they live "in deplorable conditions." Limited water supply, bitterly cold weather and poorly functioning health care facilities contribute to the rise of diseases, which include influenza, measles, tuberculosis and chronic respiratory diseases, according to the organization.
