Rukban camp ‘to close in next few months’

AMMAN — Jordan will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to thousands of Syrians trapped across the border with Syria, as their number seems to be dwindling in light of increased stability in several parts of Syria, a government official said Thursday.

Currently, humanitarian aid, including water, medical supplies and foodstuff is being supplied to the residents of the camp located in the no-man’s land between Jordan and Syria. Jordan announced it will continue to work with the international relief agencies to keep providing these services, the source told The Jordan Times.

Assistance is provided by the UNHCR in cooperation with the government and other international relief agencies.

Sources at several UN agencies said there are plans to close the camp over the next few months.

“The momentum of operation in the camp is declining and interventions by aid agencies are also decreasing… the camp is expected to be removed in the next few months as the number of its resident is shrinking,” a source at an international relief agency told The Jordan Times.

Citing estimates, the official added that the number of Syrians stranded at the camp dropped from 80,000 a few months ago to 50,000 at present, and keeps declining.

“We can see that many refugees are returning to areas where stability was restored inside Syria,” the official said.

Jordan declared the northern and northeastern border areas a closed military zone in June, 2016, in the aftermath of a terrorist attack that targeted a military post serving refugees near the border, killing seven security forces and injuring 13 others.