Al-Rukban faces acute flour shortage as Eid al-Fitr nears

As Eid al-Fitr draws near, al-Rukban camp in the tri-border area of southern Syria is grappling with harsh restrictions imposed by Syrian regime and Russian forces and their allied militias, camp residents and officials said.

The camp, located in the 55-kilometre deconfliction zone near the Syrian, Iraqi and Jordanian border, has banned the entrance of food items, particularly flour.

This has triggered a crisis, as the camp's only bakery has stopped operating, forcing camp residents to eat the dry bread used for livestock fodder.

In a March report, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the "crisis of complete lack of flour in al-Rukban camp" was continuing for its "second consecutive month".

Humanitarian aid convoys, especially those transporting food and flour, are strictly prevented from entering the camp, said Nasseef al-Khalidi, a member of the Syrian Free Army (SFA), formerly known as Jaish Maghawir al-Thawra.

This has caused an acute bread crisis, which has coincided with the month of Ramadan, worsening the situation for the camp's residents, he told Al-Mashareq.

The purpose of the ban imposed on the camp is to force residents to leave it for areas controlled by the Syrian regime, al-Khalidi said.

Although the Syrian regime has publicly promised amnesty for families who leave the camp, it has pursued, arrested and interrogated those who have left and has placed families in group shelters, he said.

For this reason, many prefer to stay in the camp, he said.

Another reason to stay in the camp -- particularly for those who fled there from Aleppo and Deir Ezzor -- is that their property has been confiscated by militias affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), he added.

Abandoned after earthquake

Sources in the camp say the deadly February earthquake in Syria and Türkiye has exacerbated residents' difficulties, as they have been more neglected in its aftermath.

Al-Rukban camp resident Bassem al-Akaidat said conditions in the camp have deteriorated considerably in recent months because of the siege imposed on it by Russian and Syrian forces and Iran-affiliated militias.

The worst consequence of the siege is the lack of bread, he told Al-Mashareq.

He accused Syrian and Russian forces and their affiliated militias of taking advantage of the world's preoccupation with the earthquake to further their objectives in the tri-border area.

The media have forgotten the camp since the earthquake, he said.

The ultimate goal of the siege is to force residents to leave al-Rukban for regime-controlled areas, without any assurance that they would not be pursued and interrogated by the regime's security services, al-Akaidat said.

The camp residents are coping with the siege and living day to day, thanks to donations provided by the SFA, which is supported by the international coalition, he added.

International coalition assistance

Inside al-Rukban, camp residents have tried to find ways to make up for the bread shortage, said al-Rukban relief worker Tariq al-Nuaimi.

Sometimes they grind grain intended as livestock fodder and bake it into something that resembles bread, he told Al-Mashareq.

Other times they use dry bread leftovers that are normally gathered for livestock fodder and mix it with milk to soften it and make it edible, he said.

International coalition forces are making serious efforts to secure the needs of the camp's residents, including medicine, water and food, and they regularly meet with camp officials to identify essential needs, al-Nuaimi said.

The camp's dire conditions are not only related to food shortages, he said, adding that children living in the camp are almost entirely deprived of education, and that they are limited to learning some basic subjects from activists, al-Nuaimi said.

Camp residents suffer from a shortage of medical care, as there is only one health centre at al-Rukban, he said.

They are vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, such as torrential rainfall, windstorms and sandstorms, which have a negative impact on public health, al-Nuaimi said.