Children dying in US camp
Residents in a camp for displaced Syrians where babies are dying every week despite being under US control have appealed to British Prime Minister Theresa May, the Pope and other world leaders for protection.
At least four babies and children died last month in the Rukban camp on the Syrian border with Jordan, which is in desperate need of food and medical aid despite the presence of hundreds of American and allied troops near by.
Residents say that their plight was made more precarious by President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw troops from Syria. They fear that the camp and the surrounding area will return to the control of President Bashar al-Assad, putting them at risk of arrest and, in the men’s case, conscription. Their letter to the UN, the heads of EU nations and other world leaders called for the camp to be put under international protection and moved to the safer north of Jordan.
It asked for the UN and compassionate organisations to ‘‘keep delivering medical and humanitarian aid’’ and for a ‘‘radical and proper solution that guarantees the camp’s families’ right in living in peace, dignity and safety’’.
The letter said: ‘‘Assad and Russia have breached reconciliation deals in other towns after giving guarantees, so how can we trust their promises?’’
The camp in a forlorn, windswept desert alongside the sand berms that demarcate the Jordanian border is a product of Syria’s complex war and America’s vacillating policy. The Pentagon and CIA initially supported the rebel groups in southern Syria against Assad. The area they seized became a magnet for civilians fleeing the regime and Islamic State. But as the war turned, Jordan withdrew support and Damascus reclaimed large parts of the south.
In 2017 the regime cut off the rebel zone around al-Tanf military base, built by the US. America and Britain decided, however, to keep troops in the base as a bulwark against Iranian influence. The strange minicolony, 100km in diameter and supplied by air, is known satirically by British and American officials as ‘‘the spherical emirate’’.
It sees little fighting and Trump’s decision to remove all troops from Syria puts its future in doubt, along with that of the refugees. Jordan has closed the border, trapping an estimated 50,000 residents. Abdulfatah Basleh, a teacher living in the camp, said that there had been protests against Trump’s decision to pull out.
‘‘We are absolutely terrified at the unknown fate of the camp,’’ he said. ‘‘We’re concerned about regime control if the coalition withdraws, as we expect it to arrest us and commit crimes against us. We are worried about Isis as well – it considers us apostates and agents for the West. In both cases we’ll be under threat of death.’’ – The Times