MOSCOW. March 1 (Interfax) - The United States has been exploiting the situation at the Rukban refugee camp in order to justify its military presence; the condition of the camp's residents is intolerable and continues to worsen, head of the Russian National Defense Control Center Col. Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev said.
"The United States keeps saying that it is necessary to send humanitarian convoys to the camp and is shamelessly exploiting over 40,000 refugees held in the at-Tanf zone, who it is allegedly protecting from repressions by the so-called 'Syrian regime' and is using this as the main argument to support the presence of its forces in that part of Syria," Mizintsev said at the joint meeting of the Russian and Syrian interagency coordination staffs promoting the return of refugees to Syria on Friday.
"It is obvious that the U.S.' stance is exacerbating the already intolerable position of Rukban residents and leading to a humanitarian catastrophe," he said.
"As a result, the situation in the camp is continuing to deteriorate. Cases of pediculosis and scabies have been observed, and even one confirmed occurrence of leprosy. There are people in Rukban are dying of hypothermia, poor sanitary conditions, skin diseases, flu, measles, tuberculosis, asthma, and a lack of basic medical assistance, food, and fuel," he said.