Latest news with #RukbanCamp
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Syria shutters displacement camp Rukban, symbol of Assad regime, people's suffering
Between 2018 and 2019, the number of displaced people in the camp reached 50,000, most of them women and children, according to a Syrian media report. Syria has moved to close Rukban, a large internally displaced persons camp that was long a symbol of suffering in the country. The camp was in southern Syria near the Jordanian border. Tens of thousands of Syrians had crowded into this camp. It was in the desert and lacked basic services. Nearby was a US army camp called Al-Tanf Garrison, where there was a small US-backed Syrian rebel unit during the Syrian Civil War. Most of the people who fled to Rukban were from Homs, the Damascus countryside, Palmyra, and Deir ez-Zor regions. Now the Rukban camp has closed, according to Syrian officials. This was made possible by the six months of rule by the new Syrian government. That government came to power when the Assad regime collapsed. The Assad regime was responsible for the suffering and civil war that led to many people fleeing to Rukban. As such, those people can now return home without fear of persecution or arrest. Syria's Minister of Emergency and Disaster Management Raed al-Saleh confirmed on Saturday, June 7, that the closure of the Rukban camp marks the end of one of the most severe humanitarian tragedies that displaced Syrians have endured over the years, Syria's Al-Ikhbariah reported. Salah is a well-known figure. During the civil war, he was director of the White Helmets, the Syrian civil defense group that helped people in rebel-held areas. As such, he sees this as an achievement because of his deep knowledge of what IDPs went through in places like Rukban. US Congressman French Hill praised the move in a post on Twitter/X. 'This is amazing news that these Syrians are now able to return to their families and villages. After more than a decade of Assad's brutal regime, freedom of movement has returned. Thanks to the US Army and the humanitarian groups, like Arkansas's own Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), that facilitated essential food and medicine to enter this remote and beleaguered place. May God bless those headed home to start life anew.' The SETF posted that the camp was closed and showed the small homes that had previously served the people, which were now empty and covered in the khaki color of the desert dust. Hill visited Syria in 2023, one of the few Americans to visit the country at the time. At the time, he said, 'Over the past seven years, I have worked tirelessly as a voice in Congress for the innocent people of Syria who are being brutally murdered by Bashar al-Assad's regime. I am proud that the Syrian Emergency Task Force (SETF), a non-profit based in central Arkansas, which I represent in Congress, has been a strong advocate in leading humanitarian efforts in the region.' He noted that, 'alongside Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) and Rep. Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI), on Sunday, I had the pleasure of visiting both the beautiful children of SETF's sponsored school for orphans, the Wisdom House, in northwest Syria and their sponsored healthcare residence for chronically ill Syrians, the House of Healing, in Gaziantep, Turkey.' He also spoke at the time about the need to help 'dismantle the production and trafficking of captagon' in Syria. 'As a co-chair of the Friends of a Free, Stable and Democratic Syria Caucus alongside Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), I will continue my work in Congress on the issue of Syria and its future. I thank the amazing, dedicated staffs at the Wisdom House and House of Healing for their incredible work in helping the Syrian people and for all Arkansans who support the SETF-backed organizations helping Syrians throughout the region,' he added. Now he has seen this work come to fruition. He praised the fall of Assad in December 2024. Salah also posted on social media about the importance of closing Rukban. He spoke about ending the suffering at the remaining IDP camps. 'The Rukban camp was subjected to a suffocating siege from all sides by forces of the former Syrian regime. Jordan also closed its borders and halted regular aid deliveries in 2016 after a cross-border ISIS attack killed seven Jordanian soldiers,' Al-Ikhbariah noted. "Between 2018 and 2019, the number of displaced people in the camp reached 50,000, most of them women and children. The camp witnessed the deaths of several children, including infants, due to a lack of medical supplies and freezing temperatures during the winter,' the report added.
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Syria's notorious Rukban camp closes after last families return home
Syria 's desert refugee camp has closed after a decade of hardship for those living there, after the last remaining families returned home this weekend. The camp, known as Rukban, was a dark reminder of the country's brutal civil war. It was established in 2014 to house desperate people fleeing ISIS and bombardment by the former government. They lived under a crippling and punishing siege for years. For years, residents were cut off from the rest of the world with little or no aid entering the area. The former regime of Bashar Al Assad rarely allowed supplies to enter the camp and neighbouring countries also blocked access to the area, isolating Rukban for years. 'The closure of the camp represents the end to of the most severe humanitarian crises faced by our displaced people,' Raed Al Saleh, Syria's minister of emergency and disaster management, said on X. The camp was situated in a 'de-confliction zone' controlled by the US-led coalition fighting ISIS, near the borders with Jordan and Iraq. Syrian Information Minister Hamza Al Mustafa said that 'with the dismantlement of the Rukban camp and the return of the displaced, a tragic and sorrowful chapter of displacement stories created by the bygone regime's war machine comes to a close. Rukban was not just a camp, it was the triangle of death that bore witness to the cruelty of siege and starvation, where the regime left people to face their painful fate in the barren desert,' he said. Residents were trapped in a patch of desert that had no infrastructure, no hospitals, schools, or nearby towns. A single road cut through the desert, part of an international route stretching from Baghdad to Damascus. For years, the UN and other humanitarian groups were largely unable to bring aid in. Food, water and other essentials were only available via smuggling at exorbitant prices, and there was almost no access to medical care. At its peak, the camp housed more than 100,000 people, but around 8,000 people still lived there in mud-brick houses before Mr Al Assad's fall last December. After last December, only a few families – those who lacked the money to return home – were left inside the camp. Jordan suspected the camp had been infiltrated by ISIS sleeper cells and closed its border crossing after a deadly attack in 2016. Yasmine Al Saleh was one of those celebrating the Eid Al Adha holiday and her family's return home after nine years of living inside the camp. She told the Associated Press that, while her home in the town of Al Qaryatayn, east of Homs, was damaged, she was indescribably happy to go back to her town. 'When I first entered my house – what can I say? It was a happiness that cannot be described,' she said. 'Even though our house is destroyed, and we have no money, and we are hungry, and we have debts, and my husband is old and can't work, and I have kids – still, it's a castle in my eyes.' Supplies came into Rukban from smugglers who traversed Syria's eastern desert from government-held territory, but most of their routes were cut off late last year. Many former residents were so desperate to leave the camp that they headed to government-held territory, risking arrest and forced conscription to the Syrian army. Since the fall of Mr Al Assad's regime 1.87 million Syrians have returned to their homes, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has said. The IOM says the 'lack of economic opportunities and essential services pose the greatest challenge' for those returning home.
Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Syrian Authorities Announce Closure of Notorious Desert Camp
A notorious desert refugee camp in Syria has closed after the last remaining families returned to their areas of origin, Syrian authorities said on Saturday. The Rukban camp in Syria's desert was established in 2014, at the height of Syria's civil war, in a de-confliction zone controlled by the US-led coalition fighting the ISIS group, near the borders with Jordan and Iraq. Desperate people fleeing ISIS extremists and former government bombardment sought refuge there, hoping to cross into Jordan. Former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government rarely allowed aid to enter the camp and neighboring countries closed their borders to the area, isolating Rukban for years. After an opposition offensive toppled Assad in December, families started leaving the camp to return home. The Syrian Emergency Task Force, a US-based organization, said on Friday that the camp was "officially closed and empty, all families and residents have returned to their homes". Syrian Information Minister Hamza al-Mustafa said on X on Saturday that "with the dismantlement of the Rukban camp and the return of the displaced, a tragic and sorrowful chapter of displacement stories created by the bygone regime's war machine comes to a close". "Rukban was not just a camp, it was the triangle of death that bore witness to the cruelty of siege and starvation, where the regime left people to face their painful fate in the barren desert," he added. At its peak, the camp housed more than 100,000 people. Around 8,000 people still lived there before Assad's fall, residing in mud-brick houses, with food and basic supplies smuggled in at high prices. Syrian minister for emergency situations and disasters Raed al-Saleh said on X said the camp's closure represents "the end of one of the harshest humanitarian tragedies faced by our displaced people". "We hope this step marks the beginning of a path that ends the suffering of the remaining camps and returns their residents to their homes with dignity and safety," he added. According to the International Organization for Migration, 1.87 million Syrians have returned to their places of origin since Assad's fall, after they were displaced within the country or abroad. The IOM says the "lack of economic opportunities and essential services pose the greatest challenge" for those returning home.
Arab News
3 days ago
- Politics
- Arab News
Syrian authorities announce closure of notorious desert camp
DAMASCUS: A notorious desert refugee camp in Syria has closed after the last remaining families returned to their areas of origin, Syrian authorities said on Rukban camp in Syria's desert was established in 2014, at the height of Syria's civil war, in a de-confliction zone controlled by the US-led coalition fighting the Daesh group, near the borders with Jordan and people fleeing IS jihadists and former government bombardment sought refuge there, hoping to cross into Syrian President Bashar Assad's government rarely allowed aid to enter the camp and neighboring countries closed their borders to the area, isolating Rukban for an Islamist-led offensive toppled Assad in December, families started leaving the camp to return Syrian Emergency Task Force, a US-based organization, said on Friday that the camp was 'officially closed and empty, all families and residents have returned to their homes.'Syrian Information Minister Hamza Al-Mustafa said on X on Saturday that 'with the dismantlement of the Rukban camp and the return of the displaced, a tragic and sorrowful chapter of displacement stories created by the bygone regime's war machine comes to a close.''Rukban was not just a camp, it was the triangle of death that bore witness to the cruelty of siege and starvation, where the regime left people to face their painful fate in the barren desert,' he its peak, the camp housed more than 100,000 people. The numbers dwindled with time, especially after Jordan sealed off its side of the border and stopped regular aid deliveries in 8,000 people still lived there before Assad's fall, residing in mud-brick houses, with food and basic supplies smuggled in at high minister for emergency situations and disasters Raed Al-Saleh said on X said the camp's closure represents 'the end of one of the harshest humanitarian tragedies faced by our displaced people.''We hope this step marks the beginning of a path that ends the suffering of the remaining camps and returns their residents to their homes with dignity and safety,' he to the International Organization for Migration, 1.87 million Syrians have returned to their places of origin since Assad's fall, after they were displaced within the country or IOM says the 'lack of economic opportunities and essential services pose the greatest challenge' for those returning home.X
