Russian and Syrian officials criticize US over Syrian camp

MOSCOW – Russia and Syria have accused the United States of preventing the evacuation of a camp for displaced in southern Syria.

Russian and Syrian officials said in a statement that the U.S. military has blocked efforts to disband the Rukban camp near the Jordanian border despite “inhumane conditions” there.

The statement, released on Thursday by the Russian Defence Ministry, charges that the U.S. opposition to the camp’s closure was driven by “the Americans’ political interests that have nothing to do with restoration of peace in Syria.”

The Rukban camp is located within a “deconfliction zone” set up by U.S. forces in the nearby Tanf military base.

Russia, a close ally of the Syrian government, has long blamed the U.S. for maintaining what Moscow sees as an “illegitimate presence” in Syria.