UN aid convoy completes delivery to Syrian refugees stranded near Jordan border
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A United Nations aid convoy has completed its delivery of food and other essentials to the remote opposition-held refugee camp near Syria’s border with Jordan, where around 50,000 people – mostly women and children – are stranded in the desert.
“We finished distribution of all items, food, sanitation and hygiene supplies and core relief items,” Fadwa AbedRabou Baroud, a UN official travelling with the convoy, told Reuters Wednesday.
“The overall humanitarian situation in Rukban camp remains dire, with shortages of basic commodities, protection concerns, and the death of several children who reportedly were unable to get medical treatment,” Baroud added.
More than 70 UN aid tracks arrived at the camp on Saturday under Russian military guard.
Unless regular aid deliveries are granted approval, conditions in the camp could further deteriorate over the harsh winter, Baroud warned.
Amman shut the border after a 2016 ISIS attack that killed seven Jordanian soldiers. As the Russian-backed regime of Bashar al-Assad scored a series of victories against opposition groups, civilians and rebels have gathered near the border.
The US has created a “deconfliction zone” in the area. Damascus accuses Washington of aiding the rebels.
The last delivery of aid to the camp was in January. At least four people died of malnutrition and lack of medical care in the past week.
The aid convoy that arrived on Saturday was delayed by a week “due to logistics issues and security concerns,” according to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
Humanitarian teams are administering vaccines to some 10,000 children in the camp to protect them from diseases like measles and polio.
“We finished distribution of all items, food, sanitation and hygiene supplies and core relief items,” Fadwa AbedRabou Baroud, a UN official travelling with the convoy, told Reuters Wednesday.
“The overall humanitarian situation in Rukban camp remains dire, with shortages of basic commodities, protection concerns, and the death of several children who reportedly were unable to get medical treatment,” Baroud added.
More than 70 UN aid tracks arrived at the camp on Saturday under Russian military guard.
Unless regular aid deliveries are granted approval, conditions in the camp could further deteriorate over the harsh winter, Baroud warned.
Amman shut the border after a 2016 ISIS attack that killed seven Jordanian soldiers. As the Russian-backed regime of Bashar al-Assad scored a series of victories against opposition groups, civilians and rebels have gathered near the border.
The US has created a “deconfliction zone” in the area. Damascus accuses Washington of aiding the rebels.
The last delivery of aid to the camp was in January. At least four people died of malnutrition and lack of medical care in the past week.
The aid convoy that arrived on Saturday was delayed by a week “due to logistics issues and security concerns,” according to the Syrian Arab Red Crescent.
Humanitarian teams are administering vaccines to some 10,000 children in the camp to protect them from diseases like measles and polio.