The Syrian Observatory For Human Rights

Under Russian protection, UN aid convoy heads to al-Rokban after weeks of sieging the camp and more than a year and a half of the last access of aid

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored a convoy of UN humanitarian aid heading to al-Rokban camp, which is located at the Syrian-Jordanian border near the base of the International Coalition, where the Syrian Observatory monitored the arrival of shipments of aid aboard a convoy to the camp area, which suffers from tragic humanitarian conditions, shortages of medicines, food, and lack of health care, after the interruption of aid as a result of closing the roads to the camp, were through these routes the humanitarian aid and foodstuffs used to arrive, and reliable sources confirmed that the aid had not entered the camp since April 2017, while several aid coming from Jordan were distributed during the past months, while the Syrian Observatory monitored several Russian vehicles escorting the convoy and protecting the convoy consists of a large number of cars and trucks, amid the gathering of thousands of citizens to receive humanitarian and food assistance in the camp which witnessed the death of 5 citizens, including 2 children and 2 women, and in which torrents swept away many tents and drowned others, amid tragic situation lived by the camp’s residents, where the camp is inhabited mostly by citizens from the eastern countryside of Homs, Palmyra, Mahin, Huwwarin, and al-Qaryatayn, it is also inhabited by a small number of people from Deir Ezzor and al-Raqqah provinces, it has a population of more than 60000 civilians and members of military factions, which are: Jaysh al-Sharqiyyah, Shuhada’a al-Qaryatayn, Jaysh Ahrar al-Asha’er, Jaysh Maghawir al-Thawra, Ahmed al-Abdu Forces, Jaysh Tahrir al-Sham, of who refuse to settle with the regime, where they had displaced to it at the beginning of September 2015, following the progress of the military war machine of the regime forces towards their areas, and reliable sources told the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that there are tens of ill people urgently in need for treatment due to lack of medicine and food in the camp, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 17th of October 2018 that Al-Rokban camp near the Jordanian – Syrian border is witnessing continued deterioration of the tragic conditions, in the shadow of nearly complete absence of minimum life requirements and livelihood of medical and relief items, amid continued close of roads leading to the camp by the regime forces and allies, in an attempt to force residents of the camp to accept being displaced to the north, and as the tragedy grows, the sandstorm comes to complete what the shortage of medicine and treatment has begun and increases the tragedy of this camp’s people, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored an increase in numbers of ill people due to lack of necessary treatment and the closure of the Syrian – Jordanian border in face of residents of the camp, in addition to the lack of equipment needed to treat most of the cases in the medical points at the camp; and the large shortage of medicines, amid a continuous sandstorm which hits the area and increases the risk of death of more patients or citizens because of the lack of ways to save the difficult conditions, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published yesterday that the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the death of an 18 years-old young girl due to the lack of food, treatment, and poor medical and living conditions in al-Rokban camp, in the vicinity of the Syrian – Jordanian border, where the regime forces continue to close all the medical, and relief roads reaching to it, while the international community continues to turn a blind eye on this humanitarian catastrophe, raising to 4, the number of people killed so far, they are 2 women and two children, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 14th of October 2018 that there are no responses to the cries of tens of thousands of people suffering in the middle of an wide desert, that has nothing allays their hunger, within camps that do not protect them from neither the hot summer nor the cold winter, and there is nothing helps them survive in it except some aid that was recently stopped and prevented to be delivered, thus, the criminals punish those who survive by death from starvation and illness as it happened in the camp of the south of Damascus, the Eastern Ghouta, Madaya and other Syrian areas, which witnessed cases of death due to starvations, diseases and lack of food and medicine, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the close of the roads to the camp, via which medical, humanitarian and alimentary aid used to be delivered, amid continued set-ins by the camp’s inhabitants until this siege is left.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published yesterday, that the deteriorated situation there, resulted in the death of 3 displaced people since the regime forces closed the crossing, where 3 displaced people (a woman, a girl, and a child) as a result of poor health conditions, the bad health conditions, and the lack of necessary treatment, amid the confirmed information about the death of other people but the cause of death is not known yet; whether it was a normal death or due to the lack of treatment and food, amid local and international appeals to pressure the Syrian regime to open the crossings and enter pharmaceutical and food aid to the camp, and the Syrian Observatory published on the 11th of October 2018 that hundreds of the citizens who have been forcibly displaced to the al-Rokban camp which is in the desert near the Jordanian – Syrian border; continue to protest against the dire humanitarian conditions of the camp and closing the vital crossings by the regime forces, where these crossings lead to the camp and used to provide food and living materials, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also published that Rokban camp organize a sit-in demanding the opening of roads to the camp, Al-Rokban camp near the Jordanian – Syrian border is witnessing a sit-in by hundreds of citizens in the camp located in the desert, which suffers tragic humanitarian, health, medical, and living conditions, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the protesters demanding to “open the crossings and break the siege of the camp”, where -according to reliable intersected sources- the regime forces are imposing a ban on the entry of foodstuffs and living requirements into the camp, and the protesters confirmed that the camp is “purely civilian.” This sit-in comes after the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on Tuesday, the 10th of October 2018, that death still devours the Syrians, as the International Community turns ‘blind eye’ to the tragedy of the displaced people in the displacement camps, where the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitored the death of 2 children (a boy and a girl) in the past 24 hours, in Al-Rokban Camp near the Jordanian – Syrian border, due to the poor health conditions, deteriorating the health reality and the lack of needed medicines, along with information received from intersected sources about the fact that the regime forces have closed the roads to the camp, used for delivering food and substances needed for living, against the backdrop of the failure in carrying out the agreement of displacing Shuhada’a Al-Qaryatayn Brigade, their families and camp’s inhabitants who want to leave to the Syrian North, and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights published on the 16th of September 2018, that information about reaching an agreement between Shuhada’a Al-Qaryatayn Brigade operating in Rif Dimashq Desert and the area of Al-Rokban Camp, and between the Russian side and the regime, on the departure of the brigade which operates in the area to the northern sector of Aleppo countryside, and the reliable sources confirmed to the Syrian Observatory that preparations started for the departure towards the Syrian North, in the next few days, and the sources also confirmed that the agreement took place via a mediator (a former commander in the factions of the Eastern Qalamoun), who carried out a reconciliation with the regime months ago, while it is expected that the number of those who will leave towards the Syrian North, will reach about 5000 people, of those who live in Al-Rokban Camp in the Desert near the Syrian – Jordanian border, and they will be transported to the controlled areas of the forces of the Turkish-backed operation of the “Euphrates Shield”, and it is expected that the fighters of other factions in the area which is near Al-Tanf who desire to leave, will also be transported with the batches heading towards the controlled areas of the Turkish forces and the factions backed by them.

It is noteworthy that Shuhada’a Al-Qaryatayn Brigade was within the factions which a displacement agreement was reached with in the Eastern Qalamoun, where a final agreement has been reached between representatives of the Russians and the regime and representatives of the areas of al-Nasriyyeh, Jeroud, al-Atnah, al-Rahiba, al-Sharqi Mountain and Batra Mountain, according which about 6240 fighters and citizens have been displaced, while the meeting that took place between parties of the agreement on Thursday, the 19th of April 2018, led to a full agreement among them, which provides exit of all of who wants to from the factions of the area (Jaysh al-Islam, Ahmad al-Abdu Forces , Jaysh Tahrir al-Sham, Ahrar al-Sham Movement, Jaysh Osud al-Sharqiyyah, Shuhada’a al-Qaryatayn Brigades, Saraya Ahel al-Sham and members from Hayyaat Tahrir al-Sham), in addition to the families of fighters and other civilians who refuse the agreement towards the Syrian, after handing over the medium and heavy weapons.