‘6,000 militants residing in Syrian refugee camp’

MOSCOW: A Russian Defence Ministry official says the US is to be held responsible for the dire humanitarian situation in Syria’s Rukban camp, warning that about 6,000 US-backed militants are currently residing besides civilian refugees at the shelter.

Yury Tarasov, the Russian representative to the Geneva-based task forces on ceasefire and humanitarian issues, made the remarks at a Friday conference about issues relating to the return of Syrian refugees.

He said Washington had occupied a region on the Syrian-Jordanian border where the refugee camp was situated.

The camp lies within a 55-kilometer zone controlled by the US around its military base in the Syrian town of At-Tanf.

“The whole responsibility for the outrageous situation in Rukban rests with the United States, as it occupies the territory illegally and it uses the humanitarian problems of the refugee camp to legitimize its military presence in the south of Syria,” Tarasov said.

He further expressed Moscow’s readiness to cooperate with international organizations on resolving the Rukban humanitarian crisis and evacuating the refugees willing to leave the shelter.