ACTUAL Migrant Crisis in Syria: SAA Evacuates 70 Thousand; Averts Humanitarian Catastrophe
Let's talk about Syria. It was possible to evacuate 70 thousand civilians from the camp on the border with Iraq and Jordan thanks to the efforts of the Syrian governmental army. According to the rescued, the settlement of Er-Rukban is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe. In addition, there’re still militants operating right near the US base.
Alexander Sladkov reporting from Syria.
Syria. A strategically important intersection. This is the road to Damask. The border with Iraq is very close. And here is Palmyra. They had difficulties taking this intersection when liberating Palmyra. Big fortifications and complicated terrain. Look at these mountains.
But today, we aren't going to talk about the war. What's happening here now shows stabilization. It's about the salvation of people, Syrian refugees. Both Russian Military Police and Syrian Military Intelligence Directorate, Mukhabarat, are waiting for them in a specific place. Haj Adel, a Damascus representative on this territory, is meeting the refugees. Here he is, wearing traditional clothes.
Haj Adel: "It used to be impossible for them to come back because in this region, near the camp, in particular, there were forces of the ISIS terrorist group that frightened them and made them stop thinking about coming back home. Now, supported by the Syrian Army, our allies, and Russia, we managed to free this region from ISIS".
The Er-Rukban refugee camp is near the border with Iraq, on Syrian territory under US control. When in 2014, ISIS terrorists invaded Syria, American military came along. Citizens fled from the war but couldn't cross the border. And now, the US military base, established despite active protests from Damascus, is near the refugee camp.
Haj Adel: "People are lacking food, medicine, milk for children. The way they treat refugees could be better. People aren't united, everyone is by themselves. People want stability, they want to be sure of what will happen tomorrow. They're coming back to their native towns because they know that they'll receive proper and necessary medical help here, their children will be able to go to school. I want to add that people in Er-Rukban received humanitarian aid only from the Syrian Army. The aid provided by the US or other countries didn't arrive at this refugee camp".
The first checkpoint. Mukhabarat, Military Intelligence Directorate. It's officers check whether there're militants among those who arrived. I can see that people are relieved.
Ahmed Khaled, refugee: "I had to flee from my native village. ISIS fighters came and started killing everyone. Everyone got scared. And everyone who had a chance fled. Before the war, I lived in Al-Qaryatayn. I'm coming back home with my family, we're five. My parents and I, my older brother and younger brother".
They're looking through personal belongings. The members of the Haj Adel group take care of the refugees.
Haj Adel: "This land belongs to the Syrian Arab Republic. I'm a Syrian citizen. They're already under the protection of our president, Bashar Asad. As for me, I guarantee that they'll come home safe and sound. I'll also help to determine their status".
The Er-Rukban camp, where the refugees came from, has a bad reputation. The Americans, who took a part of the Syrian territory and the territory where the camp is, provide poor support to the people fleeing the war. The refugees themselves say so. It's very difficult to accompany the humanitarian aid columns to the camp. The US zone of influence perimeter is blocked by the armed opposition units. Americans don't give any security guarantees.
Khufmad Mohammed Islami, refugee: "I spent two years in the refugee camp. Thank God I could get out of there and come back to my native city. We fled from home with only some clothes on, so we had neither food nor water. We didn't even have food for the children. We didn't have even the most basic things".
Aidel Muhaeljiru, refugee: "When I was living in the camp, we had problems with food and water, we didn't have medicines and the most basic things. There were no doctors who could help us. Now, I'm coming back to my native city, Al-Qaryatayn. I know that the Syrian Army, supported by the Russian Air Force, was able to liberate it from the militants. Now, it's safe there, and I really hope that my life can become the same as it was two years ago".
Illness, hunger, and unsettlement. They weren't the only problems of the Er-Rukban camp. Units were formed in the camp to fight the government, and they're trained there.
Haj Adel: "According to my people from the camp, there's a militant group there, calling itself the New Syrian Army. It's not big and it consists of those who fled ISIS and came to Er-Rukban and refugees who were intimidated and forced to join them. I believe that the New Syrian Army will become the second failure for the US. ISIS was its first failure".
The second stage of the checkup. It's performed by the Russian Military Police. They're providing security for the coming people. Haj Adel welcomes each refuge. He says that these people chose their country and their government's authority over the territories controlled by the US.
Alexander Sladkov, Pavel Vydrin, Igor Uklein, Vesti, Syria.