Syria: US Hides ISIL Commanders in Al-Rukban Camp Near Border with Iraq

“As per reliable information in al-Tanf region which is under the occupation of the US Army troops over 80 percent of the residents of al-Rukban Camp are willing to return to their villages and homes in different parts of Syria, the Arabic-language al-Alam news website reported.

It pointed to the US’ policy to prevent the exit of civilians from al-Tanf region, and said that the US occupying forces are using this region to hide the ISIL commanders who have fled from the Eastern Deir Ezzur.

The Al-Alam reported that most of the ISIL commanders have been relocated to al-Rukban Camp by some people from Badiyeh (desert) region of Eastern Deir Ezzur.

The report comes as over 50,000 of Syrian refugees in al-Rukban Camp near the border with Iraq have been under siege of the US Army troops and their allied militants since 2014.

The Rukban refugee camp is located in the Al-Tanf security zone, where a US military base is stationed. Entrances to the zone are controlled by opposition militants. According to the World Health Organization, the camp currently hosts about 40,000 refugees, mostly women and children.

In a relevant development on Thursday, media reports said the US-backed militants hoarded the needed foodstuff for the refugees residing in al-Rukban camp, adding that the American forces prevented the Syrian government’s aid cargos from entering the region.

The Arabic-language al-Watan newspaper quoted sources as saying that the terrorists who are supported by the US and are stationed in al-Tanf region, specially Maqawir al-Thawra group, which controls al-Rukban, have threatened the civilians with weapons to avoid leaving the camp for their villages.

They added that the terrorists also force the civilians to pay huge amounts of money to receive permission to leave the camp.

The sources warned of the dire humanitarian situation in the camp, saying that the terrorists in the region prevented the traffic of humanitarian aid cargos and buses sent by the Syrian government to the camp to transfer the refugees to other regions and have hoarded the foodstuff and other vital goods needed by the civilians.

A joint statement by the Russian and Syrian coordination centers said that the US has blocked traffic of the sixth bus sent by the Damascus government to transfer the refugees from al-Rukban to different parts of Syria.

Russian and Syrian coordination centers have urged the US to set free the forcibly held residents of Rukban camp and allow them to return to their homes, Major General Viktor Kupchishin, chief of the Russian center for reconciliation of conflicting sides in Syria, said.

“On March 6, the interdepartmental coordination centers of the Russian Federation and the Syrian Arab Republic came forward with a joint statement, which urges the US to switch from populism to practical steps, which are to release illegally held residents of the Rukban camp and to ensure their right to leave freely for permanent residence places and to guarantee a safe passage of humanitarian motor convoys through illegally seized area of al-Tanf,” he added.

Nonetheless, according to the general, in spite of these measures, the US force continue blocking the refugees’ exit from Rukban camp, deny access to buses for refugees’ evacuation and refuse to ensure security for humanitarian convoys within the 55-kilometer zone around their base in al-Tanf.