Deputy governor of the western Syrian province of Homs, Omer Khalil, confirmed on Friday that local authorities were ready to accept refugees from the Rukban camp, located within the US-controlled zone around its military base in Syria's At Tanf
HOMS (Syria) (Pakistan Point news / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2019) Deputy governor of the western Syrian province of Homs, Omer Khalil, confirmed on Friday that local authorities were ready to accept refugees from the Rukban camp, located within the US-controlled zone around its military base in Syria's At Tanf.
Khalil said in early March that thousands of houses had been built in Homs for internally displaced Syrians residing in the camp. He also pledged that they would be provided with jobs and social support upon coming to Homs from Rukban, where the poor humanitarian conditions have long been causing global outrage.
"I'd like to stress again that Homs administration confirms its readiness to receive refugees, especially those from the Rukban camp, and provide them with all the necessary aid and privileges. We know what inhumane conditions the camp lives in, and how its residents suffer, and this is why we should make every possible effort to put an end to the suffering of the people," Khalil told reporters.
He said that Homs authorities were aware that most of the Rukban residents were peasants.
"We will help them recover their households and provide the others with jobs at state plants," Khalil added.
The Russia-Syria coordination center on refugee repatriation has long been calling for dismantlement of the camp, in which around 40,000 residents face what the World Health Organization described as "deplorable conditions." According to the center, Washington prevents evacuation of the refugees.
