By Saniya More SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Russia is accusing the United States of not allowing tens of thousands of people to leave a refugee camp in Southern Syria.
In a joint statement released on Wednesday, the Russian and Syrian refugee coordination centers claimed the United States were keeping 40,000 people in the Rukban Refugee Camp against their will. The centers pointed to poor conditions in the camp near the Jordan border and said U.S. affiliated rebels have kept people hostage.
“The American side, which is solely responsible for the current humanitarian catastrophe in the Rukban camp, does not stop trying to shift responsibility for what is happening to the Syrian and Russian sides, in every way misinforming the world community with statements about the alleged inconsistency of the conditions for the return of refugees to United Nations standards,” the statement said.
The ongoing civil war in Syria started in 2011 and in the first five years of the war, an estimated 400,000 Syrians lost their lives, according to the UN Envoy for Syria.
