Illustrative image
Almost 4,000 people have left the militant-held area in southern Syria over the past 24 hours, the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the Opposing Parties in Syria says.
According to the Syrian government, 2,500 people have been accommodated in the Jabab refugee camp in the government-held part of the province of Daraa.
“We have prepared this camp a week ago, we knew that many people will come. Right now, it is home to 2,500 people. We installed tents and brought water. We receive assistance from international humanitarian organizations, but the bulk of aid comes from the Syrian government. We distribute mattresses and blankets, as well as medicines and food,” the Russian state-run news agency TASS quoted the camp’s chief Abdul Hamid al-Rifai.
Earlier, the Russian Center said that 27 settlements in southern Syria have come under control of the Syrian government thanks to local reconciliation agreements reached in the area over the past week.
On July 3, US Department of State Spokesperson Heather Nauert announced that the US and Russia are negotiating on the current situation in southern Syria.
“Now as we watch the situation there, we have extreme concerns about the situation. There are ongoing airstrikes; some humanitarian aid had been stopped,” Nauert said. “We understand that some humanitarian aid may be getting back in again, at least for now, but it’s certainly not a safe situation.”
“So we’re continuing to have talks with the Russians, we’re continuing to have talks with the Jordanians and express our extreme concern about the situation there.”
She added that US State Secretary Mike Pompeo had discussed the ceasefire in the region with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov earlier on the same day.
The US has repeatedly accused Syrian government forces and their allies of violating the de-escalation zone in southern Syria by carrying out operations there. However, Washington ingores the fact that Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, which is the main target of the operation, is excluded from the ceasefire.
