{"id":20955,"date":"2018-11-03T17:22:27","date_gmt":"2018-11-03T17:22:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=20955"},"modified":"2018-11-03T17:22:27","modified_gmt":"2018-11-03T17:22:27","slug":"un-aid-trucks-reach-remote-refugee-camp-in-syria","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/?p=20955","title":{"rendered":"UN aid trucks reach remote refugee camp in Syria"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

A United Nations<\/a> aid convoy has reached Rukban refugee camp in Syria<\/a>, next to the border with Jordan<\/a>, where thousands of people are stranded, a member of the camp’s local council has said.<\/p>\n

“The first convoys have entered the camp,” said Abu Abdullah, a member of the civilian council that runs the camp and coordinates with the UN on humanitarian aid, on Saturday<\/span>.<\/p>\n

UN humanitarian coordinator in Syria,<\/span>\u00a0Ali Al-Za’tari, said in a\u00a0statement<\/a> the situation in the camp is critical. It is the first time since January that the displaced Syrians have received aid.<\/p>\n

“We are delivering food, sanitation and hygiene supplies, nutrition and health assistance in addition to other core relief items in cooperation with the Syrian Arab Red Crescent,” Al-Za’tari said.<\/p>\n

“We are also conducting an emergency vaccination campaign to protect some 10,000 children against measles, polio and other deadly diseases.”<\/p>\n

He added that although Saturday’s arrival of help was a good first step, a long-term solution is needed for the refugees in Rukban.<\/p>\n

“We must do everything we can to continue helping civilians living in the harshest conditions in there,” he said.<\/p>\n

Rukban, located close to the Tanf US<\/a> military base in the desert near where the borders of Syria, Jordan and Iraq<\/a> converge, is home to more than 50,000 people.<\/p>\n

Last month, the camp was besieged on the Syrian side of the border by its army, preventing smugglers and traders from delivering food.<\/p>\n

A US-backed rebel group controls the area, but it abuts Jordan’s border and is encircled by the Syrian army.<\/p>\n

\n

An aid convoy entered #AlTanif<\/a> US military base today. The convoy is expected to enter #Alrukban<\/a> camp later today. pic.twitter.com\/8b4fZl0Xog<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Asaad Hanna (@AsaadHannaa) November 3, 2018<\/a>\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

According to Madeline Edwards, associate editor with the news website Syria Direct, conditions in the camp have become worse over the last month.<\/p>\n

“Conditions have gotten worse after a major smuggling route that used to bring in basic medical supplies and food into the camp was cut off,” Edwards told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

“We’re seeing a huge shortage of food, medicine and basic items like baby formula.” she said, adding that prices had increased signigicantly for items still available in the camp.<\/p>\n

‘Slow death’<\/h2>\n

Last month, residents of the camp sent a letter to the UN and the Jordanian government, appealing for their help in lifting the blockade which they described as a “slow death”.<\/p>\n

“Children and babies are dying because of the siege enforced by the Syrian regime and her allies 10 days ago,” the letter stated.<\/p>\n

“If this situation continues, the camp will become a cemetery for its people”, it said.<\/p>\n

Jordan has put a block on aid crossing the frontier after allowing the January delivery through its territory, and says it should not be held responsible for conditions in the camp.<\/p>\n

Edwards said Jordan is claiming the camp is a Syrian problem, whereas those involved in the Syrian crisis are putting the blame on each other.<\/p>\n

UN relief trucks had planned to deliver aid to Rukban a week ago after gaining clearance from Damascus, but were delayed for logistical and security reasons, the UN said.<\/p>\n

Shortages of food and medicine at the camp have caused at least a dozen deaths in recent weeks. The UN described the conditions as “concerning” and said thousands of lives were at risk.<\/p>\n

Syria’s civil war<\/a> has killed more than 360,000 people and displaced millions since it started with the brutal repression of anti-government protests in 2011.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\n SOURCE:
\n Al Jazeera and news agencies<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A United Nations aid convoy has reached Rukban refugee camp in Syria, next to the border with Jordan, where thousands of people are stranded, a member of the camp’s local council has said. “The first convoys have entered the camp,” said Abu Abdullah, a member of the civilian council that runs the camp and coordinates…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":20956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-middle_east_news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/20956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/qatar-news.org\/qatarnewsEn\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}