MOSCOW. Sept 18 (Interfax) - The closure of the Rukban refugee camp in Syria will begin on September 27, according to Col. Leonid Antonik from the Russian interagency coordination staff.
"The service desk of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria has just provided us with an updated plan of the evacuation of remaining Rukban residents submitted by UN Chief Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria Corinne Fleischer. The process is due to begin on September 27," Antonik said at an emergency meeting of Russian and Syrian interagency staffs, which addressed the closure of the Rukban camp on Wednesday.
A U.S. military base is located in the at-Tanf area close to the Syrian-Jordanian border. Rukban is situated within the 55-kilometer zone around the U.S. base. The Russian military and representatives of the Russian and Syrian foreign ministries have repeatedly affirmed an approaching humanitarian catastrophe in the camp.