Rukban
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Rukban, sometimes transliterated Rakban, Arabic (الرُّكبان) or ( الرُّقبان) is an
arid A region is arid when it severely lacks available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Regions with arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. Most ar ...
remote area on the Syrian border near the extreme northeast of
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
, close to the joint borders with
Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. The area became a refugee camp for Syrians in 2014. It lies along the demilitarized berm between Jordan and Syria, a
no man's land No man's land is waste or unowned land or an uninhabited or desolate area that may be under dispute between parties who leave it unoccupied out of fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dump ...
. The camp is also located within the 55 kilometer "de-confliction zone" garrisoned by the U.S. and the Syrian Free Army rebel group.


Syrian Civil War spillover

Rukban is a completely arid remote area that became inhabited by a number of Syrian refugees in 2014. Until 2016, Jordan used to welcome refugees from several crossings that exist along the border with Syria, and the country has welcomed over 1.4 million Syrians by 2016. This specific border point became inhabited by asylum seekers as Jordan had blocked their access, however, it allows around 50 to a 100 of them to pass into the country after strict screening; the government cited security concerns regarding intel on the presence of hidden
ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
sleeper cells. Jordan says that the refugees in this area have arrived mostly from Islamic State controlled territories such as
Raqqa Raqqa ( ar, ٱلرَّقَّة, ar-Raqqah, also and ) (Kurdish languages, Kurdish: Reqa/ ڕەقە) is a city in Syria on the northeast bank of the Euphrates River, about east of Aleppo. It is located east of the Tabqa Dam, Syria's largest dam. T ...
, and that ISIL sleeper cells infiltrated these refugees. The UN accepted that the number of refugees that Jordan is hosting gives rise to legitimate security concerns (as with any country hosting large numbers of refugees). The UN did not concede that Rukban residents presented any specific or additional security concern, but the organization called on Jordan to immediately allow refugees in Rukban to access the country. Melessa Flemming of UNHCR said: "UN officials accept Jordan has legitimate security concerns, but the UN continues to urge Jordan to permit residents of Rukban to enter Jordan."
UNHCR
. The number of Syrians there rose to 75,000 in 2016, becoming a de facto camp, which drew heavy criticism and condemnation to Jordan from
Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...
(HRW) in 2015. At dawn on 21 June 2016, according to the Jordanian military, a car crossed over from Rukban on Syrian territory and managed to reach a Jordanian army outpost designated for the distribution of humanitarian aid to refugees. The car exploded, killing 6 and injuring 14 Jordanian soldiers. Jordanian minister of foreign affairs
Nasser Judeh Nasser Judeh ( ar, ناصر جودة; born 11 July 1961) is a Jordanian politician who served as Jordan's longest serving minister of foreign affairs (later minister of foreign affairs and expatriates), having served between 2009 and 2017 in eigh ...
said in a press conference "we don't need a hideous terrorist attack like this one to prove to the world the legitimacy of our security concerns". He added "we will not put the lives of our soldiers and our country at risk because this is not Jordan's problem alone, this is an international responsibility", "Jordan has provided for refugees what no other country has, with regard to its resources. We will not allow anyone to take the higher moral ground". Jordan afterwards declared its northern and eastern borders closed military areas, and stressed that the armed forces' border guards will not tolerate any uncoordinated movements approaching its borders and that force will be decisively used against it. Despite this, HRW continued to condemn Jordan, most recently on 7 September 2016, due to deteriorating life conditions in Rukban after humanitarian aid was halted due to fears from further terror attacks against the Jordanian army and international humanitarian aid agencies. During
Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie (; born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian and former Special Envoy to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. The recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award ...
's visit to Syrian refugee camps in Jordan on 9 September 2016, she made the following statement during a press conference: "This is not a problem of Jordan's making, or that Jordan should be left to bear alone. Jordan has been warning for years that they could reach a point where they on their own could do no more. The world has known about the situation on the berm for months but no solution has been put forward." Another attack happened on 17 December 2016, 3 km north of the border in Syria. The bombing targeted a warehouse while it was distributing clothes to refugees, resulting in 2 dead and 15 injured Syrians. On 21 January 2017, according to the
Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , image = Syrian Observatory for Human Rights Logo.jpg , image_size = 200px , caption = The logo of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights , type = NGO , founded_date = , founder ...
, a third explosion went off in the camp by a
car bomb A car bomb, bus bomb, lorry bomb, or truck bomb, also known as a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED), is an improvised explosive device designed to be detonated in an automobile or other vehicles. Car bombs can be roughly divided ...
. 4 Syrians were killed and 14 were injured, the injured were evacuated by the Jordanian army into a medical facility. A Jordanian military source said a car bomb exploded in the market area of the camp on 3 May 2017, killing four Syrians and injuring others. Jordan began blocking aid deliveries to the camp from early 2018. On 23 August 2018, Russian
spokeswoman A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...
Maria Zakharova Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova (russian: Мария Владимировна Захарова; born 24 December 1975) is the Director of the Information and Press Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (Spokesw ...
claimed that hundreds of
ISIL An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...
and
Jabhat al-Nusra Al-Nusra Front or Jabhat al-Nusra ( ar, جبهة النصرة لأهل الشام, Jabhat an-Nuṣrah li-Ahl ish-Sham lit. ''Front of the Supporters of the People of Syria/the Levant''), known as Jabhat Fatah al-Sham ( ar, جبهة فتح ال ...
members were hiding among the refugees inside the camp, using them as human shields, with the knowledge of the U.S. military at
Al-Tanf Al-Waleed border crossing ( ar, نقطة الوليد الحدودية العراقية, also spelled al-Walid), known in Syria as al-Tanf, is one of three official border crossings between Iraq and Syria. It is located in the Ar-Rutba District ...
. In September 2016 Alice Wells, the then-U.S. Ambassador to Jordan, made the claim that the refugee camp housed a variety of different people possibly including armed groups and terrorists. However, the prevalence of IS fighters in the camp is disputed by the camp's civilian Shura governing council. In October 2018,
UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...
estimated that 45,000 people live at the camp.UNICEF demands aid access to Syrians trapped on Jordan border
Al-Araby, 10 October 2018
Other estimates are of 50,000Thousands of Syrian Refugees Face Starvation as Russia and Assad Try to Force U.S. Out
Reuters Oct 11, 2018
or even 70,000.In 15 Days, Healthcare Deterioration Leads to 14 Civilians’ Death in al-Rukban camp
''Enab Baladi'' 10 October 2018
In October, relief workers and refugees said the Syrian army blockaded the roads and prevented aid from reaching the camp, in an attempt to force frightened refugees into reconciliation. Western sources say it was part of a Russian backed effort to pressure US and rebel forces to leave their base at nearby
al-Tanf Al-Waleed border crossing ( ar, نقطة الوليد الحدودية العراقية, also spelled al-Walid), known in Syria as al-Tanf, is one of three official border crossings between Iraq and Syria. It is located in the Ar-Rutba District ...
, while a Russian military source blamed the United States as responsible for security in the area. UNICEF reported that two infants died in the camp in early October, and called for urgent action, and one local NGO reported 14 civilians had died from late September to 10 October. In January 2019, eight children were reported to have died at the Rukban camp due to cold weather and inadequate medical care, with the total number of refugees at the camp estimated at 45,000, 80% women and children. Rukban received its first aid delivery in three months on 7 February 2019 with the United Nations and the
Syrian Arab Red Crescent The Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) ( ar, الهلال الأحمر العربي السوري ''Al-Hilal al-Aḥmar al-Arabi al-Souri'') is a humanitarian nonprofit organization. Its headquarters are in the Syrian capital city of Damascus. The s ...
reaching the camp with 118 trucks packed with food supplies, basic medicines, education items and children's recreational kits. Aid workers had arrived on the night of 6 February after arduous negotiations with the Syrian government. The aid convoy was expected to spend a week distributing material to the camp's residents. In April 2019, UNOCHA estimated that 36,000 people were still living in the camp, and that 7,000 had left "in the last month or so." As of 23 May, 13,153 people in 16 groups have left Rukban and been transported to five shelters in Homs governorate; constituting more than a third of Rukban’s population of nearly 42,000. In July 2019 one estimate suggests the camp had dwindled to a population of 11,000. Aid workers, diplomats and residents say it was a result of a five month Russian siege to block supplies. As of March 2020 the area suffers in a food crisis and humanitarian disaster. The Syrian government continues to block almost all aid, with no more than four aid convoys over the prior two years. Residents say they fear violence or forcible military conscription by the Syrian regime if they leave.


See also

*
Syrian refugee camps Syrian refugee camp and shelters are temporary settlements built to receive internally displaced people and refugees of the Syrian Civil War. Of the estimated 7 million persons displaced within Syria, only a small minority live in camps or colle ...


References

{{Reflist, 30em Syrian refugee camps